QCD corrections to vector boson fusion processes

NLO QCD corrections to H, W and Z production via vector boson fusion have recently been calculated in the form of flexible parton level Monte Carlo programs. This allows for the calculation of distributions and cross sections with cuts at NLO accuracy. Some features of the calculation, as well as results for the LHC, are reviewed.Comment: 1 style file, 1 latex file, 5 figures, Contribution to the Proceedings of "Loops and Legs in Quantum Field Theory, 2004", Zinnowitz, Usedom Island, Germany, April, 200

b-quark decay in the collinear approximation

The semileptonic decay of a b-quark, b--> c l nu, is considered in the relativistic limit where the decay products are approximately collinear. Analytic results for the double differential lepton energy distributions are given for finite charm-quark mass. Their use for the fast simulation of isolated lepton backgrounds from heavy quark decays is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Phys.Rev.

Breakdown of the Narrow Width Approximation for New Physics

The narrow width approximation is used in high energy physics to reduce the complexity of scattering calculations. It is a fortunate accident that it works so well for the Standard Model, but in general it will fail in the context of new physics. We find numerous examples of significant corrections when the calculation is performed fully off-shell including a finite width, notably from effects from the decay matrix elements. If not taken into account, attempts to reconstruct the Lagrangian of a new physics discovery from data would result in considerable inaccuracies and likely inconsistencies.Comment: 4 p., 3 figs, comments clarified, version to appear in PR

Mixed top-bottom squark production at the LHC

We calculate cross sections for mixed stop-sbottom pair production at the LHC, analogous to single-top production, a weak process involving the W-t(i)-b(j) vertex. While coupling-suppressed relative to QCD same-flavor squark pair production, the signal is distinctive due to heavy-flavor tagging along with a possible same-sign lepton pair in the final state. SUSY backgrounds can often be suppressed many orders of magnitude by taking advantage of distinct kinematic differences from the signal. Measuring the rate of this process would add significant additional information to that gathered from other SUSY processes. If the stop and sbottom mixings can be determined elsewhere, stop-sbottom production would provide for a measurement of the weak squark gauge coupling and super-CKM vertex factor.Comment: typo corrected, comment on W-associated channel added, version to appear in PR

Weak boson fusion production of supersymmetric particles at the LHC

We present a complete calculation of weak boson fusion production of colorless supersymmetric particles at the LHC, using the new matrix element generator SUSY-MadGraph. The cross sections are small, generally at the attobarn level, with a few notable exceptions which might provide additional supersymmetric parameter measurements. We discuss in detail how to consistently define supersymmetric weak couplings to preserve unitarity of weak gauge boson scattering amplitudes to fermions, and derive sum rules for weak supersymmetric couplings.Comment: 24 p., 3 fig., 9 tab., published in PRD; numbers in Table IV corrected to those with kinematic cuts cite

Robust LHC Higgs Search in Weak Boson Fusion

We demonstrate that an LHC Higgs search in weak boson fusion production with subsequent decay to weak boson pairs is robust against extensions of the Standard Model or MSSM involving a large number of Higgs doublets. We also show that the transverse mass distribution provides unambiguous discrimination of a continuum Higgs signal from the Standard Model.Comment: 12p, 2 figs., additional comments on backgrounds, version to appear in PR

Next-to-leading order jet distributions for Higgs boson production via weak-boson fusion

The weak-boson fusion process is expected to provide crucial information on Higgs boson couplings at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The achievable statistical accuracy demands comparison with next-to-leading order QCD calculations, which are presented here in the form of a fully flexible parton Monte Carlo program. QCD corrections are determined for jet distributions and are shown to be modest, of order 5 to 10% in most cases, but reaching 30% occasionally. Remaining scale uncertainties range from order 5% or less for distributions to below +-2% for the Higgs boson cross section in typical weak-boson fusion search regions.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

Determining the Structure of Higgs Couplings at the LHC

Higgs boson production via weak boson fusion at the CERN Large Hadron Collider has the capability to determine the dominant CP nature of a Higgs boson, via the tensor structure of its coupling to weak bosons. This information is contained in the azimuthal angle distribution of the two outgoing forward tagging jets. The technique is independent of both the Higgs boson mass and the observed decay channel.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, version accepted for publication in PR

Binary Collision Dynamics and Numerical Evaluation of Dilute Gas Transport Properties for Potentials with Multiple Extrema

Prediction of gaseous transport properties requires calculation of Chapman-Enskog collision integrals which depend on all possible binary collision trajectories. The interparticle potential is required as input, and for a variety of applications involving monatomic gases the Hulburt-Hirschfelder potential is useful since it is determined entirely from spectroscopic information and can accomodate the long-range maxima and minima found in many systems. Hulburt-Hirschfelder potentials are classified into five distinct types according to their qualitative binary collision dynamics, which in general can be quite complex and can exhibit “double orbiting”, i.e., a pair of orbiting impact parameters for a single energy of collision. The collision integral program of O\u27Hara and Smith has been revised extensively to accomodate all physical cases of the Hulburt-Hirschfelder potential, and the required numerical methods are described and justified. The revised program substantially extends the range of potentials for which collision integrals can be calculated

Top Background Extrapolation for H -> WW Searches at the LHC

A leading order (LO) analysis is presented that demonstrates that key top backgrounds to H -> W^+W^- -> l^\pm l^\mp \sla{p}_T decays in weak boson fusion (WBF) and gluon fusion (GF) at the CERN Large Hadron Collider can be extrapolated from experimental data with an accuracy of order 5% to 10%. If LO scale variation is accepted as proxy for the theoretical error, parton level results indicate that the tt~j background to the H -> WW search in WBF can be determined with a theoretical error of about 5%, while the tt~ background to the H -> WW search in GF can be determined with a theoretical error of better than 1%. Uncertainties in the parton distribution functions contribute an estimated 3% to 10% to the total error.Comment: 17 pages, 9 tables, 4 figures; LO caveat emphasized, version to be published in Phys. Rev.