Abstract

We study a few basic photon- and lepton-initiated processes at the LHC which can be computed using the recently developed photon and lepton parton densities. First, we consider the production of a massive scalar particle initiated by lepton-antilepton annihilation and photon-photon fusion as representative examples of searches of exotic particles. Then we study lepton-lepton scattering, since this Standard-Model process may be observable at the LHC. We examine these processes at leading and next-to-leading order and, using the POWHEG method, we match our calculations to parton shower programs that implement the required lepton or photon initial-states. We assess the typical size of cross-sections and their uncertainties and discuss the preferred choices for the factorization scale. These processes can also be computed starting directly from the lepto-production hadronic tensor, leading to a result where some collinear-enhanced QED corrections are missing, but all strong corrections are included. Thus, we are in the unique position to perform a comparison of results obtained via the factorization approach to a calculation that does not have strong corrections. This is particularly relevant in the case of lepton-scattering, that is more abundant at lower energies where it is affected by larger strong corrections. We thus compute this process also with the hadronic-tensor method, and compare the results with those obtained with POWHEG. Finally, for some lepton-lepton scattering processes, we compare the size of the signal to the main quark-induced background, which is double Drell-Yan production, and outline a preliminary search strategy to enhance the signal to background ratio.

Highlights

  • Is extended to next-to-leading order (NLO) and even to higher orders, depending upon the accuracy of the available PDF

  • In order to understand the relative impact of the NLO corrections and the remaining uncertainties associated to missing higher orders, we show in figures 1, th√e LO and NLO cross sections for the γ-initiated process in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV, as a function of the scalar mass and for different choices of the central factorization scale, normalised to the NLO one computed at a fixed reference scale μF = Mφ

  • In this paper we have used the recently developed photon and lepton PDFs to study the impact of NLO corrections to a number of /γ-initiated processes and their matching to a parton shower

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Summary

Total cross sections and scale dependence

In figure 9 and 10, we show the transverse momentum of the scalar resonance and of the leading lepton, comparing the pure shower results with the NLO+PS ones using Herwig. In figure 9 and 10, we show the transverse momentum of the scalar resonance and of the leading lepton, comparing the pure shower results with the NLO+PS ones using Herwig7 In this case, we find a qualitatively good agreement among them. In the region of small values of the transverse momentum of the leading lepton, we observe a discontinuity in the NLO+PS prediction related to the minimum pT allowed in the POWHEG generation This is not a crucial problem in the simulation of the production of high-mass states. The probability to have a q → qγ splitting for the first and a γ → ll for the second are parametrically of the same order

Lepton scattering
The NLO POWHEG calculation
NLO results and scale dependence
Study with realistic cuts
10-1 LHE HT
Conclusions
A The computation of lepton scattering in the hadronic tensor approach
Composition of the phase space
Findings
B Mass corrections in the POWHEG computation

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