Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to top quark spin correlations at hadron colliders: the reactions [formula omitted

Abstract

Future hadron collider experiments are expected to record large to huge samples of t t ̄ events. The analysis of these data with respect to t t ̄ spin-spin correlations requires precise predictions of the production of these quark pairs in a general spin configuration. Therefore we have computed, at next-to-leading order (NLO) in the QCD coupling, the spin density matrices describing t t ̄ production by quark antiquark annihilation, which is the dominant production process at the Tevatron. Moreover we have computed the strength of the t t ̄ spin correlation at NLO, using various spin quantization axes.