Transverse-momentum resummation for Higgs boson pair production at the LHC with top-quark mass effects

We consider Higgs boson pair production via gluon fusion in hadronic collisions. We report the calculation of the transverse-momentum ($q_T$) distribution of the Higgs boson pair with top-quark mass ($M_t$) effects fully taken into account. At small values of $q_T$ we resum the logarithmically-enhanced perturbative QCD contributions up to next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) accuracy. At intermediate and large values of $q_T$ we consistently combine resummation with the ${\cal O}(\alpha_S^3)$ fixed-order results. After integration over $q_T$, we recover the next-to-leading order (NLO) result for the inclusive cross section with full dependence on $M_t$. We present illustrative numerical results at LHC energies, together with an estimate of the corresponding perturbative uncertainties, and we study the impact of the top-quark mass effects.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, matches version published in JHE

Associated ZH production at hadron colliders: the fully differential NNLO QCD calculation

We consider Standard Model Higgs boson production in association with a Z boson in hadron collisions. We present a fully exclusive computation of QCD radiative corrections up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). Our calculation includes the Higgs boson decay to bottom quarks (b) in next-to-leading order QCD and the leptonic decay of the Z boson with finite-width effects and spin correlations. The computation is implemented in a parton level Monte Carlo program that makes possible to consider arbitrary kinematical cuts on the final-state leptons, the b jets and the associated QCD radiation, and to compute the corresponding distributions in the form of bin histograms. We assess the impact of QCD radiative effects in the boosted kinematics at the LHC and show that the inclusion of the NNLO corrections is crucial to control the pT spectrum of the Higgs boson candidate.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Higher-order QCD effects for associated WH production and decay at the LHC

We consider Standard Model Higgs boson production in association with a W boson in hadron collisions. We supplement the fully exclusive perturbative computation of QCD radiative effects up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) with the computation of the decay of the Higgs boson into a bb pair at next-to-leading order (NLO). We consider the selection cuts that are typically applied in the LHC experimental analysis, and we compare our fixed-order predictions with the results obtained with the MC@NLO event generator. We find that NLO corrections to the H -> bb decay can be important to obtain a reliable pT spectrum of the Higgs boson, but that, in the cases of interest, their effect is well accounted for by the parton shower Monte Carlo. NNLO corrections to the production process typically decrease the cross section by an amount which depends on the detail of the applied cuts, but they have a mild effect on the shape of the Higgs pT spectrum. We also discuss the effect of QCD radiative corrections on the invariant mass distribution of the Higgs candidate.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. References and figure added. Version published on JHE

Associated production of a Higgs boson decaying into bottom quarks at the LHC in full NNLO QCD

We consider the production of a Standard Model Higgs boson decaying to bottom quarks in association with a vector boson W/Z in hadron collisions. We present a fully exclusive calculation of QCD radiative corrections both for the production cross section and for the Higgs boson decay rate up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) accuracy. Our calculation also includes the leptonic decay of the vector boson with finite-width effects and spin correlations. We consider typical kinematical cuts applied in the experimental analyses at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and we find that the full NNLO QCD corrections significantly decrease the accepted cross section and have a substantial impact on the shape of distributions. We point out that these additional effects are essential to obtain precise theoretical predictions to be compared with the LHC data.Comment: Additional quantitative information included in the figures, minor changes in the text, version published on PL

Combining QED and QCD transverse-momentum resummation for Z boson production at hadron colliders

We consider the transverse-momentum ($q_T$) distribution of $Z$ bosons produced in hadronic collisions. At small values of $q_T$, we perform the analytic resummation of the logarithmically enhanced QED contributions up to next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy, including the mixed QCD-QED contributions at leading logarithmic accuracy. Resummed results are consistently matched with the next-to-leading fixed-order results (i.e. $\mathcal{O}(\alpha^2)$) at small, intermediate and large values of $q_T$. We combine the QED corrections with the known QCD results at next-to-next-to-leading order ($\mathcal{O}(\alpha_S^2)$) and next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. We show numerical results at LHC and Tevatron energies, studying the impact of the QED corrections and providing an estimate of the corresponding perturbative uncertainty. Our analytic results for the combined QED and QCD resummation, obtained through an extension of the $q_T$ resummation formalism in QCD, are valid for the production of generic neutral and colourless high-mass systems in hadronic collision.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Vector boson production at hadron colliders: transverse-momentum resummation and leptonic decay

We consider the transverse-momentum ($q_T$) distribution of Drell-Yan lepton pairs produced, via $W$ and $Z/\gamma^*$ decay, in hadronic collisions. At small values of $q_T$, we resum the logarithmically-enhanced perturbative QCD contributions up to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. Resummed results are consistently combined with the known ${\mathcal O}(\alpha_S^2)$ fixed-order results at intermediate and large values of $q_T$. Our calculation includes the leptonic decay of the vector boson with the corresponding spin correlations, the finite-width effects and the full dependence on the final-state lepton(s) kinematics. The computation is encoded in the numerical program DYRes, which allows the user to apply arbitrary kinematical cuts on the final-state leptons and to compute the corresponding distributions in the form of bin histograms. We present a comparison of our results with some of the available LHC data. The inclusion of the leptonic decay in the resummed calculation requires a theoretical discussion on the $q_T$ recoil due to the transverse momentum of the produced vector boson. We present a $q_T$ recoil procedure that is directly applicable to $q_T$ resummed calculations for generic production processes of high-mass systems in hadron collisions.Comment: Comments and references added, additional quantitative information included in some figures, results unchanged, version to appear on JHE

Vector boson production at hadron colliders: transverse-momentum resummation and leptonic decay

We consider the transverse-momentum (qT ) distribution of Drell-Yan lepton pairs produced, via W and Z/γ∗ decay, in hadronic collisions. At small values of qT , we resum the logarithmically-enhanced perturbative QCD contributions up to next-to-next- to-leading logarithmic accuracy. Resummed results are consistently combined with the known O(αS2 ) fixed-order results at intermediate and large values of qT . Our calculation includes the leptonic decay of the vector boson with the corresponding spin correlations, the finite-width effects and the full dependence on the final-state lepton(s) kinematics. The computation is encoded in the numerical program DYRes, which allows the user to apply arbitrary kinematical cuts on the final-state leptons and to compute the corresponding distributions in the form of bin histograms. We present a comparison of our results with some of the available LHC data. The inclusion of the leptonic decay in the resummed cal- culation requires a theoretical discussion on the qT recoil due to the transverse momentum of the produced vector boson. We present a qT recoil procedure that is directly applica- ble to qT resummed calculations for generic production processes of high-mass systems in hadron collisions.Fil: Catani, Estefano. Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze; ItaliaFil: de Florian, Daniel Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología. Centro Internacional de Estudios Avanzados; ArgentinaFil: Ferrera, Giancarlo. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Grazzini, Massimiliano. Universitat Zurich; Suiz