Search for single top production at CDF

We present recent results from searches for single top quark
production in the 1 fb$^{-1}$ dataset accumulated with the CDF II
detector. In the 1.96 TeV p-pbar collisions at the Tevatron,
individual top quarks are expected to be produced in association with
bottom quarks mainly through the exchange of an off-shell
W boson ($s$-channel), or the W-gluon fusion process ($t$-channel).
Such events (as of this writing) have yet to be observed.
We select events with one charged lepton, high missing transverse
energy, and at least 2 jets, one of which is identified as a
b-quark using the CDF Silicon detector. Distinguishing the
single top signal from significant backgrounds from W+jets
processes with heavy flavour such as Wbb, Wcc, Wc proves
extremely challenging. We present combined searches for the
$s$- and $t$- channels, along with individual searches for each
channel, using several powerful multivariate techniques, which
together provide us with unprecedented sensitivity and potential
for first observation of single top production.