Higher Order QCD Corrections Research Articles

Exclusive vector-quarkonium photoproduction at NLO in αs in collinear factorisation with evolution of the generalised parton distributions and high-energy resummation

We perform the first complete one-loop study of exclusive photoproduction of vector quarkonia off protons in Collinear Factorisation (CF) including the scale evolution of the Generalised Parton Distributions (GPDs). We confirm the perturbative instability of the cross section at high photon-proton-collision energies (Wγp) at Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) in αs and solve this issue by resumming higher-order QCD corrections, which are enhanced by a logarithm of the parton energies, using High-Energy Factorisation (HEF) in the Doubly-Logarithmic Approximation (DLA) matched to CF. Our NLO CF ⊕ DLA HEF results are in agreement with the latest HERA data, show a smaller sensitivity to the factorisation and renormalisation scales compared to Born-order results. Quark-induced channels via interference with gluon ones are found to contribute at most 20% of the cross section for Wγp>100 GeV. Our results also show that such exclusive cross sections cannot be accurately obtained from the square of usual Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) and clearly illustrate the importance of quarkonium exclusive photoproduction to advance our understanding of the 3D content of the nucleon in terms of gluons. Our work provides an important step towards a correct interpretation of present and future experimental data collected at HERA, the EIC, the LHC and future experiments.

Higgs interference effects in top-quark pair production in the 1HSM

We present a next-to-leading-order (NLO) study of the process pp (→ {h1, h2}) →tt¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t} $$\\end{document} + X in the 1-Higgs-singlet extension of the Standard Model with an additional heavy Higgs boson h2 that mixes with the light Higgs boson h1. This process is subject to large interference effects between loop-induced Higgs-mediated amplitudes and the QCD continuum background which tend to overcompensate any resonance contributions. A reliable modelling of the resulting top-pair invariant mass shapes requires the inclusion of higher-order QCD corrections, which are presented here. The computation of these NLO corrections is exact in all contributions but in the class of non-factorisable two-loop diagrams which are included in an approximate way such that all infrared singular limits are preserved. We present numerical results for several benchmark points with heavy Higgs masses in the range 700–3000 GeV considering the production of stable top quarks. We find that the interference effects dominate the BSM signal yielding sharp dip structures instead of resonance peaks. The significance and excludability of the BSM effect is explored for the LHC Run 2, Run 3 and HL-LHC.

N3LO soft-gluon corrections in single-particle-inclusive kinematics and H+H− production

We calculate the complete soft-gluon corrections for the production of colorless final states through N3LO in single-particle-inclusive kinematics. We present explicit analytical results and use them to study higher-order QCD corrections for the production of a heavy charged Higgs pair (H+H−) via quark-antiquark annihilation in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model at LHC energies. We calculate the NNLO soft-gluon and virtual QCD corrections as well as the N3LO soft-gluon corrections to the total cross section and the charged-Higgs rapidity distribution. This is the first calculation of complete N3LO soft-gluon corrections for a process in single-particle-inclusive kinematics, and the results can be applied to other processes with colorless final states.

SMEFT chromomagnetic dipole operator contributions to tt¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$t{{\\bar{t}}}$$\\end{document} production at approximate NNLO in QCD

We study higher-order QCD corrections for the production of a top–antitop quark pair (tt¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$t{{\\bar{t}}}$$\\end{document} production) at the Large Hadron Collider in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory. We consider effects of new physics parametrized by the top-quark chromomagnetic dipole operator. We calculate new physics contributions to the total cross section at approximate NNLO, with second-order soft-gluon corrections added to the complete NLO result, including uncertainties from scale dependence and from parton distributions. We also calculate new physics contributions at approximate NNLO for differential distributions in top-quark transverse momentum.

Soft-gluon corrections in [formula omitted] production

We study higher-order QCD corrections for the associated production of a top-antitop quark pair and a W boson (tt¯W production) in proton-proton collisions. We calculate approximate NNLO (aNNLO) and approximate N3LO (aN3LO) cross sections, with second-order and third-order soft-gluon corrections added to the exact NLO QCD result, and we also include electroweak (EW) corrections through NLO. We calculate uncertainties from scale dependence, which are reduced at higher orders, and from parton distributions, and we also provide separate results for tt¯W+ and tt¯W− production. We compare our results to recent measurements from the LHC, and we find that the aN3LO QCD + NLO EW predictions provide improved agreement with the data. We also calculate differential distributions in top-quark transverse momentum and rapidity and find significant enhancements from the higher-order corrections. This is the first calculation of soft-gluon corrections in single-particle-inclusive kinematics for a 2→3 process where all final-state particles are massive.

Higgs boson pair production and decay at NLO in QCD: the bb¯γγ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ b\\overline{b}\\gamma \\gamma $$\\end{document} final state

The Higgs boson pair production at the LHC provides a probe to the Higgs boson self-coupling. The higher-order QCD corrections in this process are sizable and must be taken into account in comparison with data. Due to the small cross section, it is necessary to consider at least one of the Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quarks. The QCD corrections to the decay processes would also be important in such cases. We present a full calculation of the total and differential cross sections for the bb¯γγ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ b\\overline{b}\\gamma \\gamma $$\\end{document} final state with next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections. After applying typical kinematic cuts in the final state, we find that QCD NLO corrections in the decay decrease the LO result by 19% and reduce the scale uncertainties by a factor of two. The QCD corrections to the invariant mass mjjγγ distribution, the transverse momentum spectra of the leading bottom quark jet and photon are significant and can not be approximated by a constant factor.

Determination of diffractive PDFs from a global QCD analysis of inclusive diffractive DIS and dijet cross-section measurements at HERA

We present an updated set of {\tt SKMHS} diffractive parton distribution functions (PDFs). In addition to the diffractive deep-inelastic scattering (diffractive DIS) data sets, the recent diffractive dijet cross sections measurements by the H1 experiment from the HERA collider are added to the data sample. The new set of diffractive PDFs, entitled {\tt SKMHS23} and {\tt SKMHS23-dijet}, are presented at next-to-leading order (NLO) and next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) accuracy in perturbative QCD. Since the gluons directly contribute to jet production through the boson-gluon fusion process, the data on diffractive dijet production in inclusive DIS help to constrain the gluon density, allowing for the determination of both the quark and gluon densities with better accuracy. The NLO and NNLO theory predictions calculated using both {\tt SKMHS23} and {\tt SKMHS23-dijet} are compared to the analyzed data showing excellent agreements. The effect arising from the inclusion of diffractive dijet data and higher order QCD corrections on the extracted diffractive PDFs and data/theory agreements are clearly examined and discussed.

Higgs boson decays to Bc meson in the fragmentation-function approach

In the paper, we present a calculation of the decay widths for the Higgs boson decays to the $B_c$, $B_c^*$, $B_c(2^1S_0)$ and $B_c^*(2^3S_1)$ mesons using the fragmentation-function approach. In the calculation, the fragmentation functions up to order $\alpha_s^3$ based on the nonrelativistic QCD factorization theory are used, and the decay widths for $H\to Q+X$ and $H \to g+X$ at the partonic level are calculated up to order $\alpha_s$. The large logarithms of $m_H^2/m_{Bc}^2$ are resummed up to next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy by solving the evolution equations for the running quark masses and the fragmentation functions. Compared to the leading-order decay widths based on the nonrelativistic QCD approach, the decay widths based on the fragmentation-function approach that include the higher-order QCD corrections are reduced significantly. Our numerical results show that there are about $1.2\times 10^5$ $B_c$ events via the Higgs decays to be produced at the HL-LHC with $3ab^{-1}$, and about $1.6\times 10^6$ $B_c$ events via the Higgs decays to be produced at the HE-LHC with $15ab^{-1}$.

Pseudoscalar MSSM Higgs Production at NLO SUSY-QCD

One of the most important mechanisms at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for the production of the pseudoscalar Higgs boson of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is the loop-induced gluon fusion process gg → A. The higher-order QCD corrections have been obtained a long time ago and turned out to be large. However, the genuine supersymmetric (SUSY–)QCD corrections have been obtained only in the limit of large SUSY particle masses so far. We describe our calculation of the next-to-leading-order (NLO) SUSY-QCD results with full mass dependence and present numerical results for a few representative benchmark points. We also address the treatment of the effective top and bottom Yukawa couplings, in the case of heavy SUSY particles, in terms of effective low-energy theories where the heavy degrees of freedom have been decoupled. Furthermore, we include a discussion of the relation between the SUSY-QCD corrections that we have computed and the Adler-Bardeen theorem for the axial anomaly. In addition, we apply our results to the gluonic and photonic pseudoscalar Higgs decays A → gg, γγ at NLO.

Higher-order corrections in tt¯γ cross sections

We study higher-order QCD corrections for the associated production of a top-antitop quark pair and a photon ($t\overline{t}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ production) in proton-proton collisions. We calculate the approximate next-to-next-to-leading order cross section, with second-order soft-gluon corrections added to the complete next-to-leading order result, including uncertainties from scale dependence and from parton distributions. We compare our results to recent measurements from the LHC, and find that the soft-gluon corrections provide improved agreement with the data. We also calculate differential distributions in top-quark transverse momentum and rapidity.

Fragmentation functions for [formula omitted] using neural networks

We present a determination of fragmentation functions (FFs) for the octet baryon Ξ−/Ξ¯+ from data for single inclusive electron-positron annihilation. Our parametrization in this QCD analysis is provided in terms of a Neural Network (NN). We determine fragmentation functions for Ξ−/Ξ¯+ at next-to-leading order and for the first time at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD. We discuss the improvement of higher-order QCD corrections, the quality of fit, and the comparison of our theoretical results with the fitted datasets. As an application of our new set of fragmentation functions, named SHKS22, we present predictions for Ξ−/Ξ¯+ baryon production in proton-proton collisions at the LHC experiments.

Revisiting inclusive decay widths of charmed mesons

Determining for the first time the Darwin operator contribution for the non-leptonic charm-quark decays and using new non-perturbative results for the matrix elements of ∆C = 0 four-quark operators, including eye-contractions, we present a comprehensive study of the lifetimes of charmed mesons and inclusive semileptonic decay rates as well as the ratios, within the framework of the Heavy Quark Expansion (HQE). We find good agreement with experiment for the ratio τ(D+)/τ(D0), for the total {D}_s^{+} -meson decay rate, for the semileptonic rates of all three mesons D0, D+ and {D}_s^{+} , and for the semileptonic ratio {Gamma}_{sl}^{D^{+}}/{Gamma}_{sl}^{D^0} . The total decay rates of the D0 and D+ mesons are underestimated in our HQE approach and we suspect that this is due to missing higher-order QCD corrections to the free charm quark decay and the Pauli interference contribution. For the SU(3)F breaking ratios tau left({D}_s^{+}right)/tau left({D}^0right) and {Gamma}_{sl}^{D_s^{+}}/{Gamma}_{sl}^{D^0} our predictions lie closer to one than experiment. This might originate from the poor knowledge of the non-perturbative parameters {mu}_G^2 , {mu}_{uppi}^2 and {rho}_D^3 in the D0 and {D}_s^{+} systems. These parameters could be determined by experimental studies of the moments of inclusive semileptonic D meson decays.

Fiducial perturbative power corrections within the mathbf{q}_T subtraction formalism

We consider higher-order QCD corrections to the production of high-mass systems in hadron collisions within the transverse-momentum (q_T) subtraction formalism. We present a method to consistently remove the linear power corrections in q_T which appears when fiducial kinematical cuts are applied on the final state system. We consider explicitly the case of fiducial cross sections for Drell–Yan lepton pair production at the Large Hadron Collider up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N^3LO) in QCD. We have implemented our method within the DYTurbo numerical program and we have obtained perturbative predictions which are in agreement at the permille level with those obtained with local subtraction formalisms up to the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). At the N^3LO we are able to provide predictions for fiducial cross sections with numerical accuracy at the permille level.

Fiducial cross sections for the lepton-pair-plus-photon decay mode in Higgs production up to NNLO QCD

The rare three-body decay of a Higgs boson to a lepton-antilepton pair and a photon is starting to become experimentally accessible at the LHC. We investigate how higher-order QCD corrections to the dominant gluon-fusion production process impact on the fiducial cross sections in this specific Higgs decay mode for electrons and muons. Corrections up to NNLO QCD are found to be sizeable. They are generally uniform in kinematical variables related to the Higgs boson, but display several distinctive features in the kinematics of its individual decay products.

Higher-order QCD corrections to H \u2192 b overline{b} from rational approximants

We use rational approximants to study missing higher orders in the massless scalar-current quark correlator. We predict the yet unknown six-loop coefficient of its imaginary part, related to Γ(H → b overline{b} ), to be c5 = −6900 ± 1400. With this result, the perturbative series becomes almost insensitive to renormalization scale variations and the intrinsic QCD truncation uncertainty is tiny. This confirms the expectation that higher-order loop computations for this quantity will not be required in the foreseeable future, as the uncertainty in Γ(H → b overline{b} ) will remain largely dominated by the Standard Model parameters.

Measurement of the production cross section of pairs of isolated photons in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of prompt photon-pair production in proton-proton collisions at sqrt{s} = 13 TeV is presented. The data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Events with two photons in the well-instrumented region of the detector are selected. The photons are required to be isolated and have a transverse momentum of {p}_{mathrm{T}{,}_{gamma 1(2)}} > 40 (30) GeV for the leading (sub-leading) photon. The differential cross sections as functions of several observables for the diphoton system are measured and compared with theoretical predictions from state-of-the-art Monte Carlo and fixed-order calculations. The QCD predictions from next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations and multi-leg merged calculations are able to describe the measured integrated and differential cross sections within uncertainties, whereas lower-order calculations show significant deviations, demonstrating that higher-order perturbative QCD corrections are crucial for this process. The resummed predictions with parton showers additionally provide an excellent description of the low transverse-momentum regime of the diphoton system.

Determination of alpha _{S} beyond NNLO using event shape averages

We consider a method for determining the QCD strong coupling constant using fits of perturbative predictions for event shape averages to data collected at the LEP, PETRA, PEP and TRISTAN colliders. To obtain highest accuracy predictions we use a combination of perturbative {{{mathcal {O}}}}(alpha _{S}^{3}) calculations and estimations of the {{{mathcal {O}}}}(alpha _{S}^{4}) perturbative coefficients from data. We account for non-perturbative effects using modern Monte Carlo event generators and analytic hadronization models. The obtained results show that the total precision of the alpha _{S} determination cannot be improved significantly with the higher-order perturbative QCD corrections alone, but primarily requires a deeper understanding of the non-perturbative effects.

Simultaneous extraction of fragmentation functions of light charged hadrons with mass corrections

Achieving the highest possible precision for theoretical predictions at the present and future high-energy lepton and hadron colliders requires a precise determination of fragmentation functions (FFs) of light and heavy charged hadrons from a global QCD analysis with great accuracy. We describe a simultaneous determination of unpolarized FFs of charged pions, charged kaons and protons/antiprotons from single-inclusive hadron production in electron-positron annihilation (SIA) data at next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading order accuracy in perturbative QCD. A new set of FFs, called SGKS20, is presented. We include data for identified light charged hadrons (${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$, ${K}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$ and $p/\overline{p}$) as well as for unidentified light charged hadrons, ${h}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$ and show that these data have a significant impact on both size and uncertainties of the fragmentation functions. We examine the inclusion of higher-order perturbative QCD corrections and finite-mass effects. We compare the new SGKS20 FFs with other recent FFs available in the literature and find in general reasonable agreement, but also important differences for some parton species. We show that theoretical predictions obtained from our new FFs are in very good agreement with the analyzed SIA data, especially at small values of $z$. The SGKS20 FF sets presented in this work are available via the LHAPDF interface.

Implications for new physics from a novel puzzle in B¯(s)0→D(s)(*)+{π−,K−} decays

Recently, the standard model predictions for the $B$-meson hadronic decays, $\bar{B}^0 \to D^{(\ast)+}K^-$ and $\bar{B}^0_s \to D^{(\ast)+}_s \pi^-$, have been updated based on the QCD factorization approach. This improvement sheds light on a novel puzzle in the $B$-meson hadronic decays: there are mild but universal tensions between data and the predicted branching ratios. Assuming the higher-order QCD corrections are not huge enough to solve the tension, we examine several new physics interpretations of this puzzle. We find that the tension can be partially explained by a left-handed $W^\prime$ model, which can be compatible with other flavor observables and collider bounds.

Diphoton production in vector-boson scattering at the LHC at next-to-leading order QCD

In this paper, we present results at next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD for photon pair production in association with two jets via vector boson scattering within the Standard Model (SM), and also in an effective field theory framework with anomalous gauge coupling effects via bosonic dimension-6 and 8 operators. We observe that, com- pared to other processes in the class of two electroweak (EW) vector boson production in association with two jets, more exclusive cuts are needed in order to suppress the SM QCD-induced background channel. As expected, the NLO QCD corrections reduce the scale uncertainties considerably. Using a well-motivated dynamical scale choice, we find moderate K -factors for the EW-induced process while the QCD-induced channel receives much larger corrections. Furthermore, we observe that applying a cut of Delta {phi}_{j2gamma 1}^{mathrm{cut}}<2.5 for the second hardest jet and the hardest photon helps to increase the signal significance and reduces the impact of higher-order QCD corrections.