On the ratio of ttbb and ttjj cross sections at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

Triggered by ongoing experimental analyses, we report on a study of the cross section ratio sigma(pp -> ttbb)/sigma(pp -> ttjj) at the next-to-leading order in QCD, focusing on both present and future collider energies: sqrt{s}= 7, 8, 13 TeV. In particular, we provide a comparison between our predictions and the currently available CMS data for the 8 TeV run. We further analyse the kinematics and scale uncertainties of the two processes for a single set of parton distribution functions, with the goal of assessing possible correlations that might help to reduce the theoretical error of the ratio and thus enhance the predictive power of this observable. We argue that the different jet kinematics makes the ttbb and ttjj processes uncorrelated in several observables, and show that the scale uncertainty is not significantly reduced when taking the ratio of the cross sections.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, some issues clarified, acknowledgement and references added, version to appear in JHE

Constraining BSM Physics at the LHC: Four top final states with NLO accuracy in perturbative QCD

Many theories, from Supersymmetry to models of Strong Electroweak Symmetry Breaking, look at the production of four top quarks as an interesting channel to evidentiate signals of new physics beyond the Standard Model. The production of four-top final states requires large partonic energies, above the 4mt threshold, that are available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and will become more and more accessible with increasing energy and luminosity of the proton beams. A good theoretical control on the Standard Model background is a fundamental prerequisite for a correct interpretation of the possible signals of new physics that may arise in this channel. In this paper we report on the calculation of the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the Standard Model process pp -> tttt + X. As it is customary for such studies, we present results for both integrated and differential cross sections. A judicious choice of a dynamical scale allows us to obtain nearly constant K-factors in most distributions.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, 3 table

ttˉbbˉt\bar{t}b\bar{b} hadroproduction with massive bottom quarks with PowHel

The associated production of top-antitop-bottom-antibottom quarks is a relevant irreducible background for Higgs boson analyses in the top-antitop-Higgs production channel, with Higgs decaying into a bottom-antibottom quark pair. We implement this process in the PowHel event generator, considering the bottom quarks as massive in all steps of the computation which involves hard-scattering matrix-elements in the 4-flavour number scheme combined with 4-flavour Parton Distribution Functions. Predictions with NLO QCD + Parton Shower accuracy, as obtained by PowHel + PYTHIA, are compared to those which resulted from a previous PowHel implementation with hard-scattering matrix-elements in the 5-flavour number scheme, considering as a baseline the example of a realistic analysis of top-antitop hadroproduction with additional $b$-jet activity, performed by the CMS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Off-shell Top Quarks with One Jet at the LHC: A comprehensive analysis at NLO QCD

We present a comprehensive study of the production of top quark pairs in association with one hard jet in the di-lepton decay channel at the LHC. Our predictions, accurate at NLO in QCD, focus on the LHC Run II with a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. All resonant and non-resonant contributions at the perturbative order ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^4 \alpha^4)$ are taken into account, including irreducible backgrounds to $t\bar{t}j$ production, interferences and off-shell effects of the top quark and the $W$ gauge boson. We extensively investigate the dependence of our results upon variation of renormalisation and factorisation scales and parton distribution functions in the quest for an accurate estimate of the theoretical uncertainties. Additionally, we explore a few possibilities for a dynamical scale choice with the goal of stabilizing the perturbative convergence of the differential cross sections far away from the $t\bar{t}$ threshold. Results presented here are particularly relevant for searches of new physics as well as for precise measurements of the top-quark fiducial cross sections and top-quark properties at the LHC.Comment: 51 pages, 36 figures, 6 tables, version to appear in JHE

Block Tridiagonal Reduction of Perturbed Normal and Rank Structured Matrices

It is well known that if a matrix $A\in\mathbb C^{n\times n}$ solves the matrix equation $f(A,A^H)=0$, where $f(x, y)$ is a linear bivariate polynomial, then $A$ is normal; $A$ and $A^H$ can be simultaneously reduced in a finite number of operations to tridiagonal form by a unitary congruence and, moreover, the spectrum of $A$ is located on a straight line in the complex plane. In this paper we present some generalizations of these properties for almost normal matrices which satisfy certain quadratic matrix equations arising in the study of structured eigenvalue problems for perturbed Hermitian and unitary matrices.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

A CMV--based eigensolver for companion matrices

In this paper we present a novel matrix method for polynomial rootfinding. By exploiting the properties of the QR eigenvalue algorithm applied to a suitable CMV-like form of a companion matrix we design a fast and computationally simple structured QR iteration.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Compression of unitary rank--structured matrices to CMV-like shape with an application to polynomial rootfinding

This paper is concerned with the reduction of a unitary matrix U to CMV-like shape. A Lanczos--type algorithm is presented which carries out the reduction by computing the block tridiagonal form of the Hermitian part of U, i.e., of the matrix U+U^H. By elaborating on the Lanczos approach we also propose an alternative algorithm using elementary matrices which is numerically stable. If U is rank--structured then the same property holds for its Hermitian part and, therefore, the block tridiagonalization process can be performed using the rank--structured matrix technology with reduced complexity. Our interest in the CMV-like reduction is motivated by the unitary and almost unitary eigenvalue problem. In this respect, finally, we discuss the application of the CMV-like reduction for the design of fast companion eigensolvers based on the customary QR iteration

Design and test of a prototype scale ejector wing

A two dimensional momentum integral analysis was used to examine the effect of changing inlet area ratio, diffuser area ratio, and the ratio of ejector length to width. A relatively wide range of these parameters was considered. It was found that for constant inlet area ratio the augmentation increases with the ejector length, and for constant length: width ratio the augmentation increases with inlet area ratio. Scale model tests were used to verify these trends and to examine th effect of aspect ratio. On the basis of these results, an ejector configuration was selected for fabrication and testing at a scale representative of an ejector wing aircraft. The test ejector was powered by a Pratt-Whitney F401 engine developing approximately 12,000 pounds of thrust. The results of preliminary tests indicate that the ejector develops a thrust augmentation ratio better than 1.65