254 research outputs found
MINLO: Multi-scale improved NLO
In the present work we consider the assignment of the factorization and
renormalization scales in hadron collider processes with associated jet
production, at next-to-leading order (NLO) in perturbation theory. We propose a
simple, definite prescription to this end, including Sudakov form factors to
consistently account for the distinct kinematic scales occuring in such
collisions. The scheme yields results that are accurate at NLO and, for a large
class of observables, it resums to all orders the large logarithms that arise
from kinematic configurations involving disparate scales. In practical terms
the method is most simply understood as an NLO extension of the matrix element
reweighting procedure employed in tree level matrix element-parton shower
merging algorithms. By way of a proof-of-concept, we apply the method to Higgs
and Z boson production in association with up to two jets.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figure
Parton Distributions for Event Generators
In this paper, conventional Global QCD analysis is generalized to produce
parton distributions optimized for use with event generators at the LHC. This
optimization is accomplished by combining the constraints due to existing
hard-scattering experimental data with those from anticipated cross sections
for key representative SM processes at LHC (by the best available theory) as
joint input to the global analyses. The PDFs obtained in these new type of
global analyses using matrix elements calculated in any given order will be
best suited to work with event generators of that order, for predictions at the
LHC. This is most useful for LO event generators at present. Results obtained
from a few candidate PDF sets (labeled as CT09MCS, CT09MC1 and CT09MC2) for LO
event generators produced in this way are compared with those from other
approaches.Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures, and 4 table
Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to electroweak Zjj production in the POWHEGBOX
We present an implementation of electroweak Z-boson production in association
with two jets at hadron colliders in the POWHEG framework, a method that allows
the interfacing of NLO-QCD calculations with parton-shower Monte Carlo
programs. We focus on the leptonic decays of the weak gauge boson, and take
photonic and non-resonant contributions to the matrix elements fully into
account. We provide results for observables of particular importance for the
suppression of QCD backgrounds to vector-boson fusion processes by means of
central-jet-veto techniques. While parton-shower effects are small for most
observables associated with the two hardest jets, they can be more pronounced
for distributions that are employed in central-jet-veto studies.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
W+W-, WZ and ZZ production in the POWHEG BOX
We present an implementation of the vector boson pair production processes
ZZ, W+W- and W Z within the POWHEG framework, which is a method that allows the
interfacing of NLO calculations to shower Monte Carlo programs. The
implementation is built within the POWHEG BOX package. The Z/\gamma^*
interference, as well as singly resonant contributions, are properly included.
We also considered interference terms arising from identical leptons in the
final state. As a result, all contributions leading to the desired four-lepton
system have been included in the calculation, with the sole exception of the
interference between ZZ and W+W- in the production of a pair of same-flavour,
oppositely charged fermions and a pair of neutrinos, which we show to be fully
negligible. Anomalous trilinear couplings can be also set in the program, and
we give some examples of their effect at the LHC. We have made the relevant
code available at the POWHEG BOX web site.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Minor corrections and updated
references in revised versio
b-Initiated processes at the LHC: a reappraisal
Several key processes at the LHC in the standard model and beyond that
involve quarks, such as single-top, Higgs, and weak vector boson associated
production, can be described in QCD either in a 4-flavor or 5-flavor scheme. In
the former, quarks appear only in the final state and are typically
considered massive. In 5-flavor schemes, calculations include quarks in the
initial state, are simpler and allow the resummation of possibly large initial
state logarithms of the type into the
parton distribution function (PDF), being the typical scale of the
hard process. In this work we critically reconsider the rationale for using
5-flavor improved schemes at the LHC. Our motivation stems from the observation
that the effects of initial state logs are rarely very large in hadron
collisions: 4-flavor computations are pertubatively well behaved and a
substantial agreement between predictions in the two schemes is found. We
identify two distinct reasons that explain this behaviour, i.e., the
resummation of the initial state logarithms into the -PDF is relevant only
at large Bjorken and the possibly large ratios 's are
always accompanied by universal phase space suppression factors. Our study
paves the way to using both schemes for the same process so to exploit their
complementary advantages for different observables, such as employing a
5-flavor scheme to accurately predict the total cross section at NNLO and the
corresponding 4-flavor computation at NLO for fully exclusive studies.Comment: Fixed typo in Eq. (A.10) and few typos in Eq. (C.2) and (C.3
Single-top t-channel hadroproduction in the four-flavour scheme with POWHEG and aMC@NLO
We present results for the QCD next-to-leading order (NLO) calculation of
single-top t-channel production in the 4-flavour scheme, interfaced to Parton
Shower (PS) Monte Carlo programs according to the POWHEG and MC@NLO methods.
Comparisons between the two methods, as well as with the corresponding process
in the 5-flavour scheme are presented. For the first time results for typical
kinematic distributions of the spectator-b jet are presented in an NLO+PS
approach.Comment: 16+1 pages, 8 figures, matches version accepted for publication in
JHE
W b bbar production in POWHEG
We present an implementation of the next-to-leading order hadronic production
of a W boson in association with a pair of massive bottom quarks in the
framework of POWHEG, a method to consistently interface NLO QCD calculations
with shower Monte Carlo generators. The process has been implemented using the
POWHEG BOX, an automated computer code that sistematically applies the POWHEG
method to NLO QCD calculations. Spin correlations in the decay of the W boson
into leptons have been taken into account using standard approximated
techniques. We present phenomenological results for W b bbar-> l nu b bbar
production, at both the Tevatron and the LHC, obtained by showering the POWHEG
results with PYTHIA and HERWIG, and we discuss the outputs of the two different
shower Monte Carlo programs.Comment: Corrected a conclusion that turned out to be wron
Towards W b bbar + j at NLO with an automatized approach to one-loop computations
We present results for the O(alpha_s) virtual corrections to q g -> W b bbar
q' obtained with a new automatized approach to the evaluation of one-loop
amplitudes in terms of Feynman diagrams. Together with the O(alpha_s)
corrections to q q' -> W b bbar g, which can be obtained from our results by
crossing symmetry, this represents the bulk of the next-to-leading order
virtual QCD corrections to W b bbar + j and W b + j hadronic production,
calculated in a fixed-flavor scheme with four light flavors. Furthermore, these
corrections represent a well defined and independent subset of the 1-loop
amplitudes needed for the NNLO calculation of W b bbar. Our approach was tested
against several existing results for NLO amplitudes including selected
O(alpha_s) one-loop corrections to W + 3 j hadronic production. We discuss the
efficiency of our method both with respect to evaluation time and numerical
stability.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Implementation of electroweak corrections in the POWHEG BOX: single W production
We present a fully consistent implementation of electroweak and strong
radiative corrections to single W hadroproduction in the POWHEG BOX framework,
treating soft and collinear photon emissions on the same ground as coloured
parton emissions. This framework can be easily extended to more complex
electroweak processes. We describe how next-to-leading order (NLO) electroweak
corrections are combined with the NLO QCD calculation, and show how they are
interfaced to QCD and QED shower Monte Carlo. The resulting tool fills a gap in
the literature and allows to study comprehensively the interplay of QCD and
electroweak effects to W production using a single computational framework.
Numerical comparisons with the predictions of the electroweak generator HORACE,
as well as with existing results on the combination of electroweak and QCD
corrections to W production, are shown for the LHC energies, to validate the
reliability and accuracy of the approachComment: 31 pages, 7 figures. Minor corrections, references added and updated.
Final version to appear in JHE
NLO corrections merged with parton showers for Z+2 jets production using the POWHEG method
We present results for the QCD production of Z/{\gamma} + 2 jets matched with
parton showers using the POWHEG method. Some technicalities relevant for the
merging of NLO corrections for this process with parton showers are discussed,
and results for typical distributions are shown, in presence of different sets
of cuts. A comparison with ATLAS data is also presented, and good agreement is
found.Comment: 13+1 pages, 6 figures, 1 reference and 1 appendix added; matches
version accepted for publication in JHE
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