On the resummation of subleading logarithms in the transverse momentum distribution of vector bosons produced at hadron colliders

Abstract

The perturbation series for electroweak vector boson production at small transverse momentum is dominated by large double logarithms at each order in perturbation theory. An accurate theoretical prediction therefore requires a resummation of these logarithms. This can be performed either directly in transverse momentum space or in impact parameter (Fourier transform) space. While both approaches resum the same leading double logarithms, the subleading logarithms are, in general, treated differently. We comment on two recent approaches to this problem, emphasising the particular subleading logarithms resummed in each case and the numerical differences in the cross sections which result.