Top-quark processes at NLO in production and decay

Abstract

We describe the implementation of top production and decay processes in the parton-level Monte Carlo program MCFM. By treating the top quark as being on-shell, we can factorize the amplitudes for top-pair production, s-channel single-top production, and t-channel single-top production into the product of an amplitude for production and an amplitude for decay. In this way we can retain all spin correlations. Both the production and the decay amplitudes are calculated consistently at next-to-leading order in . The full dependence on the b-quark mass is also kept. Phenomenological results are presented for various kinematic distributions at the LHC and for the top quark forward–backward asymmetry at the Tevatron.