A report on the recent next-to-leading order QCD calculations to ttbb and ttjj at the CERN Large Hardon Collider is given. The elements of the calculation are briefly summarized and results for integrated and differential cross sections are presented.
We present predictions for the inclusive production of charm jets in proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV. Several CTEQ parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the CTEQ6.6M type are employed, where two of the CTEQ6.6 PDFs have intrinsic charm. At large enough jet transverse momentum and large jet rapidity, the intrinsic charm content can be tested.
We present predictions for the inclusive production of charm jets in proton-proton collisions at 2.76 and 5.02 TeV. The charm-quark is considered massless. In this scheme we find that the ratio of the next-to-leading order to the leading order cross section (K factor) is almost equal to one depending essentially on the choice of the renormalization and factorization scale. Adding non-pertubative corrections obtained from Pythia Monte Carlo calculations lead to reasonable agreement with experimental c-jet cross sections obtained by the CMS collaboration.
We present the computation of next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections to di-photon production in association with two or three hard jets in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The inclusion of NLO corrections is shown to substantially reduce the theoretical uncertainties estimated from scale variations on total cross section predictions. We study a range of differential distributions relevant for phenomenological studies of photon pair production in association with jets at the LHC. Using an efficient computational set-up we performed a detailed study of uncertainties due to…
The QCD-induced $W^\pm γ$ production channels in association with two jets are computed at next-to-leading order QCD accuracy. The W bosons decay leptonicly and full off-shell and finite width effects as well as spin correlations are taken into account. These processes are important backgrounds to beyond Standard Model physics searches and also relevant to test the nature of the quartic gauge couplings of the Standard Model. The next-to-leading order corrections reduce the scale uncertainty significantly and show a non-trivial phase space dependence. Our code will be publicly available as part…
Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the QCD-induced $pp \rightarrow l^+l^- γj j +X$ and $pp \rightarrow \barν_l ν_l γjj+X$ processes are presented. The latter is used to find an optimal cut to reduce the contribution of radiative photon emission off the charged leptons in the first channel. As expected, the scale uncertainties are significantly reduced at NLO and the QCD corrections are phase space dependent and important for precise measurements at the LHC.
Mueller Navelet jets were proposed more than 25 years ago as a decisive test of BFKL dynamics at hadron colliders. We here present a complete next-to-leading BFKL study of the azimuthal decorrelation of these jets. This includes both next-to-leading corrections to the Green's function and next-to-leading corrections to the jet vertices. We compare our results with recent data taken at the LHC and results obtained in a fixed order next-to-leading-order (NLO) calculation.
We present the first calculation of next-to-leading order QCD corrections to QCD-induced ZZ production in association with two jets at hadron colliders. Both Z bosons decay leptonically with all off-shell effects, virtual photon contributions and spin-correlation effects fully taken into account. This process is an important background to weak boson scattering, to the measurement of quartic gauge couplings and to searches for signals of new physics beyond the Standard Model. As expected, the next-to-leading order corrections reduce significantly the scale uncertainty and show a non-trivial pha…
In this article we calculate the next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections for single on-shell top-quark production in association with two jets at proton-proton colliders. The tW channel is assumed to be measured independently. The QCD corrections to the inclusive cross section are about 28 (22)\% for top (anti-top) quark production at the 13 TeV LHC. Theoretical errors are dominated by scale uncertainties, which are found to be around 5\% at NLO. Results for various kinematical distributions are also provided using a well-motivated dynamical scale. The QCD corrections are found to have a n…
We present predictions for the inclusive production of bottom jets in proton-antiproton collisions at 1.96 TeV and proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV. The bottom quark is considered massless. In this scheme, we find that at small transverse momentum (p_T) the ratio of the next-to-leading order to the leading-order cross section (K factor) is smaller than one. It increases with increasing p_T and approaches one at larger p_T at a value depending essentially on the choice of the renormalization scale. Adding non-perturbative corrections obtained from PYTHIA Monte Carlo calculations leads to reaso…
Mueller Navelet jets were proposed 25 years ago as a decisive test of BFKL dynamics at hadron colliders. We here present the first next-to-leading BFKL study of the cross section and azimuthal decorrelation of these jets. This includes both next-to-leading corrections to the Green's function and next-to-leading corrections to the Mueller Navelet vertices. The obtained results for standard observables proposed for studies of Mueller Navelet jets show that both sources of corrections are of equal and big importance for final magnitude and behavior of observables, in particular for the LHC kinema…
We report on the calculation of the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the production of ttbar pairs in association with two hard jets at the Fermilab TeVatron and CERN Large Hadron Collider. Results for the integrated and differential cross sections are given. The corrections with respect to leading order are negative and moderate. A study of the scale dependence of our NLO predictions indicates that the residual theoretical uncertainty, due to higher order corrections, is 21% for the TeVatron and 15% for the LHC. In case of the TeVatron, the forward-backward asymmetry of the top quark …
We compute the charm dijet photoproduction cross section at next-to-leading order of QCD in the zero-mass variable flavour number scheme, i.e. with active charm quarks in the proton and photon. The results are compared to recent measurements from the ZEUS experiment at HERA. The predictions for various distributions agree well with the data, in particular for large momentum fractions of the the partons in the photon, where direct photon processes dominate. At low momentum fractions, the predictions are quite sensitive to the charm content in the photon. The experimental data are shown to favou…
We report on the first next-to-leading BFKL study of the cross section and azimuthal decorrellation of Mueller Navelet jets. This includes next-to-leading corrections to the Green's function as well as next-to-leading corrections to the Mueller Navelet vertices. The obtained results for standard observables proposed for studies of Mueller Navelet jets show that both sources of corrections are of equal and big importance for final magnitude and final behavior of observables, in particular for the LHC kinematics investigated here in detail. The astonishing conclusion of our analysis is that the …
In this thesis we describe the calculation of the process e+ e- --> Z/gamma -> Q Qbar + X, where Q is a heavy quark, X is anything else at order alpha_s^2.
I present an analysis of fully differential single-top-quark production plus jets at next-to-leading order. I describe the effects of jet definitions, top-quark mass, and higher orders on the shapes and normalizations of the kinematic distributions, and quantify all theoretical uncertainties. I explain how to interpret next-to-leading-order jet calculations, and compare them to showering event generators. Using the program ZTOP, I show that HERWIG and PYTHIA significantly underestimate both s-channel and t-channel single-top-quark production, and propose a scheme to match the relevant samples …
We discuss a calculation of the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the process $e^+e^-\to 3$ jets with massive quarks, and show numerical results for the three jet fraction and the differential two jet rate.
Analytic predictions for the energy dependence of the mean multiplicities in gluon and quark jets are presented at the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (3NLO) of perturbative QCD and are compared to experiment. The 3NLO correction to the gluon jet multiplicity is found to be small. The corresponding theoretical expression provides a good description of available gluon jet measurements. In contrast, the 3NLO correction to the quark jet multiplicity is large and the theoretical expression does not describe the data accurately. It is shown that the well known success of the next-to-leading o…
More than 25 years ago, Mueller and Navelet proposed to study the production of two jets separated by a large interval of rapidity at hadron colliders to look for high-energy resummation effects. We here present the results of a next-to-leading logarithmic BFKL study of the azimuthal decorrelation of these jets. This includes next-to-leading corrections both to the Green's function and to the jet vertices. We compare our results with recent LHC data and results obtained in a fixed order treatment.
Differential cross sections for inclusive dijet photoproduction on a virtual pion have been calculated in next-to-leading order QCD as a function of $E_T, η$, and $x_π$. The cross sections are compared with recent ZEUS data on photoproduction of dijets with a leading neutron in the final state.
We present an update on the next-to-leading order calculation of the rate for Higgs boson production in association with two jets. Our new calculation incorporates the full analytic result for the one-loop virtual amplitude. Results are presented for the Tevatron, where implications for the Higgs search are sketched, and for the LHC at \sqrt{s}=7 TeV.
We calculate the rate for $e^+e^-$ annihilation into four jets at next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD, but omitting terms that are suppressed by one or more powers of $1/\Nc^2$, where $\Nc$ is the number of colors. The $\cO(α_s^3)$ corrections depend strongly on the jet resolution parameter $\ycut$ and on the clustering and recombination schemes, and they substantially improve the agreement between theory and data.
We present a study of $W^+W^+jj$ and $W^-W^-jj$ production including leptonic decays in hadron-hadron collisions. The full electroweak and QCD induced contributions and their interferences are calculated at leading order. We find that, for inclusive cuts, the interference effects can be large if the jets are produced with large transverse momentum where, however, the production rate is suppressed. We also discuss the vector-boson-fusion (VBF) cuts and show the validity of the VBF approximation. The NLO QCD corrections to the QCD-induced channels are also calculated. Compared to the previous ca…
We report the results of a next-to-leading order simulation of top quark pair production in association with two jets. With our inclusive cuts, we show that the corrections with respect to leading order are negative and small, reaching 11%. The error obtained by scale variation is of the same order. Additionally, we reproduce the result of a previous study of top quark pair production in association with a single jet.
We perform an update of the next-to-leading order calculation of the rate for Higgs boson production in association with two jets. Our new calculation incorporates the full analytic result for the one-loop virtual amplitude. This new theoretical information allows us to construct a code including the decay of the Higgs boson without incurring a prohibitive penalty in computer running time. Results are presented for the Tevatron, where implications for the Higgs search are sketched, and also for a range of scenarios at the LHC.
A new next-to-leading order Monte Carlo program for the calculation of jet cross sections in photoproduction is described. The contributions from both resolved and direct components are included to O(αα_s^2). Properties of the predictions for various inclusive jet and dijet observables are discussed and comparisons with HERA data are presented.
Hadronic decays of boosted resonances, e.g., top quark jets, at hadronic super colliders are frequent predictions in TeV-scale extensions of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. In such scenarios, accurate modeling of QCD radiation is necessary for trustworthy predictions. We present the automation of fully differential, next-to-leading-order (NLO) in QCD corrections with parton shower (PS) matching for an effective Left-Right Symmetric Model (LRSM) that features $W_R^\pm, Z_R$ gauge bosons and heavy Majorana neutrinos $N$. Publicly available universal model files require remarkably fewer u…
We investigate diffractive events in hadron-hadron collisions, in which two jets are produced and separated by a large rapidity gap. In perturbative QCD, the hard color-singlet object exchanged in the t-channel, and responsible for the rapidity gap, is the Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov (BFKL) Pomeron. We perform a phenomenological study including the corrections due to next-to-leading logarithms (NLL). Using a renormalisation-group improved NLL kernel, we show that the BFKL predictions are in good agreement with the Tevatron data, and present predictions which could be tested at the LHC.
We consider within QCD collinear factorization the process $p+p\to {\rm jet} +{\rm jet} +X$, where two forward high-$p_T$ jets are produced with a large separation in rapidity $Δy$ (Mueller-Navelet jets). In this case the (calculable) hard part of the reaction receives large higher-order corrections $\sim α^n_s (Δy)^n$, which can be accounted for in the BFKL approach with next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy, including contributions $\sim α^n_s (Δy)^{n-1}$. We calculate several observables related with this process, using the next-to-leading order jet vertices, recently calculated in the appro…
We present a next-to-leading order calculation of Higgs boson production plus one and two jets via gluon fusion interfaced to shower Monte Carlo programs, implemented according to the POWHEG method. For this implementation we have used a new interface of the POWHEG BOX with MadGraph4, that generates the codes for generic Born and real processes automatically. The virtual corrections have been taken from the MCFM code. We carry out a simple phenomenological study of our generators, comparing them among each other and with fixed next-to-leading order results.
We present in detail a calculation of the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the process $e^+e^-\to 3$ jets with massive quarks. To isolate the soft and collinear divergencies of the four parton matrix elements, we modify the phase space slicing method to account for masses. Our computation allows for the prediction of oriented three jet events involving heavy quarks, both on and off the Z resonance, and of any event shape variable which is dominated by three jet configurations. We show next-to-leading order results for the three jet fraction, the differential two jet rate, and for the t…
I present a general purpose Monte Carlo program for calculating the next-to-leading order corrections to arbitrary four-jet quantities in electron-positron annihilation. In the current version of the program, some subleading in color terms are neglected. As an example, I calculate the four-jet rate in the Durham scheme as well as the Bengtsson-Zerwas angular distribution at $O(α_s^3)$ and compare the results to existing data.
We present a next-to-leading order QCD calculation for the single-inclusive production of collimated jets at hadron colliders, when the jet is defined by maximizing a suitable jet function that depends on the momenta of final-state particles in the event. A jet algorithm of this type was initially proposed by Georgi and subsequently further developed into the class of "$J_{E_T}$ algorithms". Our calculation establishes the infrared safety of the algorithms at this perturbative order. We derive analytical results for the relevant partonic cross sections. We discuss similarities and differences …
We calculate cross section and azimuthal decorrellation of Mueller Navelet jets at the LHC in the complete next-lo-leading order BFKL framework, i.e. including next-to-leading corrections to the Green's function as well as next-to-leading corrections to the Mueller Navelet vertices. The obtained results for standard observables proposed for studies of Mueller Navelet jets show that both sources of corrections are of equal, big importance for final magnitude and final behavior of observables. The astonishing conclusion of our analysis is that the observables obtained within the complete next-lo…
We present theoretical predictions for the production of top-quark pairs with up to three jets at the next-to leading order in perturbative QCD. The relevant calculations are performed with Sherpa and OpenLoops. To address the issue of scale choices and related uncertainties in the presence of multiple scales, we compare results obtained with the standard scale HT/2 at fixed order and the MINLO procedure. Analyzing various cross sections and distributions for tt+0,1,2,3 jets at the 13 TeV LHC we find a remarkable overall agreement between fixed-order and MINLO results. The differences are typi…
A next-to-leading order QCD calculation for single-inclusive jet photoproduction in unpolarized and longitudinally polarized lepton-hadron collisions is presented which consistently includes ``direct'' and ``resolved'' photon contributions. The computation is performed within the ``small-cone approximation'' in a largely analytical form. Phenomenological aspects of jet production at future ep colliders such as the CERN-LHeC and the polarized BNL-eRHIC are discussed, placing particular emphasis on the perturbative stability of the predictions and the possibility to constrain the parton content …
Recently, an anomaly of W+jets events at large invariant masses has been reported by CDF. Many interpretations as physics beyond the Standard Model are being offered. We show how such an invariant mass peak can arise from a slight shift in the relative normalization of the top and WW backgrounds.
The second and third factorial moments of the multiplicity distributions of gluon and quark jets are calculated up to the next-to-next-to-next-to leading order in perturbative QCD, using the equations for generating functions. The results are confronted with experimental data. A general discussion on high order corrections revealed by such an approach is given. Other possible corrections and approaches are discussed as well.
We study, within QCD collinear factorization and including BFKL resummation at the next-to-leading order, the production of Mueller-Navelet jets at LHC with center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The adopted jet vertices are calculated in the approximation of small aperture of the jet cone in the pseudorapidity-azimuthal angle plane. We consider several representations of the dijet cross section, differing only beyond the next-to-leading order, to calculate a few observables related with this process. We use various methods of optimization to fix the energy scales entering the perturbative calculatio…
Uncertainties in the simulation of Higgs boson production with up to two jets at next-to leading order accuracy are investigated. Traditional uncertainty estimates based on scale variations are extended employing different functional forms for the central scale, and the impact of details in the implementation of the parton shower is discussed.
We recalculate, completely within the original BFKL approach and at the next-to-leading order, the jet vertex relevant for the production of Mueller-Navelet jets in proton collisions and of forward jets in DIS. We consider both processes with incoming quark and gluon. The starting point is the definition of quark and gluon impact factors in the BFKL approach. Following this procedure we show explicitly that all infrared divergences cancel when renormalized parton densities are considered. We compare our results for the vertex with the former calculation of Refs. [1,2] and, in the case of the q…
A report on the recent next-to-leading order QCD calculations to t anti-t b anti-b and t anti-t + 2j processes at the CERN Large Hardon Collider is presented. Results for integrated and differential cross sections are given. A significant reduction of the scale dependence is observed in both cases, which indicates that the perturbative expansion is well under control. The results are obtained in the framework of the HELAC-NLO system.
We report on QCD radiative corrections to the processes p pbar --> W + 2 jets and p pbar --> Z + 2 jets at the Tevatron. These processes are included in the Monte Carlo program MCFM, which allows the calculation of any infra-red finite variable at next-to-leading order. Due to a better theoretical description of jets at next-to-leading order, some distributions exhibit significant corrections. As expected, the unphysical dependence of theoretical predictions upon the renormalization and factorization scales is greatly reduced compared to leading order. As an example of the predictions that may…
It is well known that cross-sections in perturbative QCD receive large corrections from soft and collinear radiation, whose properties must be resummed to all orders in the coupling. Whether or not the universal properties of this radiation can be extended to next-to-leading power (NLP) in the threshold expansion has been the subject of much recent study. In this paper, we consider two types of NLP effects: the interplay of next-to-soft and collinear radiation in processes with final state jets and the NLP contributions stemming from soft quarks. We derive an NLP amplitude for soft gluons and …
We investigate the possibility that the W+4 jets background is a source of the anomalously large top-antitop (tt) charge asymmetry observed at the Tevatron. We simulate the tt reconstruction of the signal and background events at the matrix-element level and find that the reconstructed tt candidates from the W +4 jets background could give large forward-backward asymmetry. We suggest serious re-evaluation of the W+4 jets background for the tt candidate events by studying the distributions of the reconstructed tt systems in their rapidity difference, the transverse momentum of the top quark, an…
For the first time, a next-to-leading BFKL study of the cross section and azimuthal decorrellation of Mueller Navelet jets is performed, i.e. including next-to-leading corrections to the Green's function as well as next-to-leading corrections to the Mueller Navelet vertices. The obtained results for standard observables proposed for studies of Mueller Navelet jets show that both sources of corrections are of equal and big importance for final magnitude and final behavior of observables, in particular for the LHC kinematics investigated here in detail. The astonishing conclusion of our analysis…
We propose a method to identify jets consisting of all the visible remnants of boosted top particles when these decay semileptonically to electrons. Within these jets, the electron shower overlaps with the shower initiated by the $b$ quark, which makes the identification of the electron hard. Even if an electron inside a jet is identified, it is difficult to pinpoint whether the electron rich jet is indeed due to top quark decay or not, since the invisible neutrino carries away a nontrivial part of the energy-momentum of the original top quark. Broadly speaking, the method proposed here has th…
For the first time, a next-to-leading BFKL study of the cross section and azimuthal decorrellation of Mueller Navelet jets is performed, i.e. including next-to-leading corrections to the Green's function as well as next-to-leading corrections to the Mueller Navelet vertices. The obtained results for standard observables proposed for studies of Mueller Navelet jets show that both sources of corrections are of equal and big importance for final magnitude and final behavior of observables, in particular for the LHC kinematics investigated here in detail. The astonishing conclusion of our analysis…
This paper gives detailed information on the structure of the infrared singularities for the process e+ e- --> 3 jets at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbation theory. Particular emphasis is put on singularities associated to soft gluons. The knowledge of the singularity structure allows the construction of appropriate subtraction terms, which in turn can be implemented into a numerical Monte Carlo program.
We present a next-to-leading order QCD calculation of the production rates of jets containing heavy quarks. This calculation is performed using the standard Snowmass jet algorithm; it therefore allows a comparison with similar results known at next-to-leading order for generic jets. As an application, we present results for the inclusive transverse energy of charm and bottom jets at the Tevatron collider, with a complete study of the dependence on the jet cone-size and of the theoretical uncertainties.
We report on the next-to-leading order QCD calculation for e+ e- --> 4 jets. We explain some modern techniques which have been used to calculate the one-loop amplitudes efficiently. We further report on the general purpose numerical program ``Mercutio'', which can be used to calculate any infrared safe four-jet quantity in electron-positron annihilation at next-to-leading order.
As most target final states for searches and measurements at the Large Hadron Collider have a particular quark/gluon composition, tools for distinguishing quark- from gluon-initiated jets can be very powerful. In addition to the difficulty of the classification task, quark-versus-gluon jet tagging is challenging to calibrate. The difficulty arises from the topology dependence of quark-versus-gluon jet tagging: since quarks and gluons have net quantum chromodynamic color charge while only colorless hadrons are measured, the radiation pattern inside a jet of a particular type depends on the rest…
We study effects related to violation of energy-momentum conservation inherent to the BFKL approach, in the particular case of Mueller-Navelet jets production. We argue, based on the comparison of the lowest order non trivial corrections $\mathcal{O}(α_s^3)$ to the cross section with predictions of an exact calculation, that the inclusion of next-to-leading order BFKL corrections to the jet production vertex significantly reduces the importance of these effects.
A method of top tagging is introduced. Using the anti-kt algorithm to define jets, events with nj = 2 fat jets of cone size R = 1.5 are decomposed into R = 0.6 sub-jets and retained if nj (R= 0.6) >= 4 . One pair of sub-jets reconstructs the W-mass and another jet is tagged as a b-jet, as necessary for hadronic or semileptonic events of tt origin. This 'hollow cone' method distinguishes the tt events from the light parton QCD dijet events.