Threshold resummation for W-boson production at BNL RHIC

We study the resummation of large logarithmic perturbative corrections to the partonic cross sections relevant for the process pp ->(WX)-X-+/- at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). At RHIC, polarized protons are available, and spin asymmetries for this process will be used for precise measurements of the up and down quark and antiquark distributions in the proton. The corrections arise near the threshold for the partonic reaction and are associated with soft-gluon emission. We perform the resummation to next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy, for the rapidity-differential cross section. We find that resummation leads to relatively moderate effects on the cross sections and spin asymmetries.