Constraints on extended neutral gauge structures

Indirect precision data are used to constrain the masses of possible extra Z′ bosons and their mixings with the ordinary Z. We study a variety of Z′ bosons as they appear in E6 and left-right unification models, the sequential Z boson, and the example of an additional U(1) in a concrete model from heterotic string theory. In all cases the mixings are severely constrained (sinθ<0.01). The lower mass limits are generally of the order of several hundred GeV and competitive with collider bounds. The exception is the Zψ boson, whose vector couplings vanish and whose limits are weaker. The results change little when the ρ parameter is allowed, which corresponds to a completely arbitrary Higgs sector. On the other hand, in specific models with minimal Higgs structures the limits are generally pushed into the TeV region.