Precision QCD Research Articles

Tt¯bb¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t}b\\overline{b} $$\\end{document} at NLO precision in a variable flavor number scheme

Top-quark pair production in association with two b-jets is computed at next-to-leading order QCD precision, including effects of the b-quark mass, and matched to a 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}+jets simulation in a variable flavor number scheme. The Monte Carlo realization of this method, called fusing, consistently embeds the four-flavor calculation in a particle-level event generator. As a first phenomenological application, we present observables relevant to the data-driven estimation of irreducible backgrounds to tt¯H\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t}H $$\\end{document}-production.

Precise QCD predictions for W-boson production in association with a charm jet

The production of a W-boson with a charm quark jet provides a highly sensitive probe of the strange quark distribution in the proton. Employing a novel flavour dressing procedure to define charm quark jets, we compute W+charm-jet production up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD. We study the perturbative stability of production cross sections with same-sign and opposite-sign charge combinations for the W boson and the charm jet. A detailed breakdown according to different partonic initial states allows us to identify particularly suitable observables for the study of the quark parton distributions of different flavours.

New determination of |Vub/Vcb| from Bs0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {B}_s^0 $$\\end{document}→ {K−, Ds−\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {D}_s^{-} $$\\end{document}}μ+ν

We update the full set of B¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\overline{B} $$\\end{document}s → K form factors using light-cone sum rules with an on-shell kaon. Our approach determines the relevant sum rule parameters — the duality thresholds — from a Bayesian fit for the first time. Using a modified version of the Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed parametrisation, we combine our sum rule results at low momentum transfer q2 with more precise lattice QCD results at large q2. We obtain a consistent description of the form factors in the full q2 range. Applying these results to a recent LHCb measurement of branching ratios for the decays Bs0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {B}_s^0 $$\\end{document} → {K−, Ds−\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {D}_s^{-} $$\\end{document}}μ+νμ, we determine the ratio of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa elementsVubVcbq2<7GeV2=0.0681±0.0040andVubVcbq2>7GeV2=0.0801±0.0047,\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\left|\\frac{V_{ub}}{V_{cb}}\\right|}_{q^2<7\\;{\ extrm{GeV}}^2}=0.0681\\pm 0.0040\\kern0.5em \ extrm{and}\\kern0.5em {\\left|\\frac{V_{ub}}{V_{cb}}\\right|}_{q^2>7\\;{\ extrm{GeV}}^2}=0.0801\\pm 0.0047, $$\\end{document}which are mutually compatible at the 1.9σ level. We further comment on the sensitivity to Beyond the Standard Model effects through measurements of the shape of Bs0\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {B}_s^0 $$\\end{document} → K−μ+νμ decays, in light of recent limits on such effects from other exclusive b → uℓν processes.

Renormalon subtraction in OPE by dual space approach: nonlinear sigma model and QCD

It is becoming more important to subtract renormalons efficiently from perturbative calculations, in order to achieve high precision QCD calculations. We propose a new framework “Dual Space Approach” for renormalon separation, which enables subtraction of multiple renormalons simultaneously. Using a dual transform which suppresses infrared renormalons, we derive a one-parameter integral representation of a general observable. We investigate systematically how renormalons emerge and get canceled in the entire operator product expansion (OPE) of an observable, by applying the expansion-by-regions (EBR) method to this one-parameter integral expression. In particular we investigate in detail OPEs in a solvable model, the 2-dimensional O(N) nonlinear σ model, by the dual space approach. A nontrivial mechanism of renormalon cancellation in this model can be understood from an integration identity on which the EBR method is founded. We demonstrate that the dual space approach can be useful by a simulation study imitating the QCD case. Application of this method to QCD calculations is also discussed.

Scientific computing plan for the ECCE detector at the Electron Ion Collider

The Electron Ion Collider (EIC) is the next generation of precision QCD facility to be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory in conjunction with Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory. There are a significant number of software and computing challenges that need to be overcome at the EIC. During the EIC detector proposal development period, the ECCE consortium began identifying and addressing these challenges in the process of producing a complete detector proposal based upon detailed detector and physics simulations. In this document, the software and computing efforts to produce this proposal are discussed; furthermore, the computing and software model and resources required for the future of ECCE are described.

Renormalon subtraction using Fourier transform: analyses of simplified models

For precise QCD prediction of observables, the ambiguity due to renormalons in perturbative calculations should be appropriately separated from Wilson coefficients in the framework of the operator-product-expansion. Recently, a new method has been developed which utilizes the properties of Fourier transform to separate multiple renormalons simultaneously from the Wilson coefficients. To understand how this method works analytically, we perform a renormalon separation from various toy models with the one-loop beta function. We confirm that each of the results is consistent with the theoretical expectations. In addition, we present a new formula for the resummation of UV renormalons and study its validity using one of the toy models.

Anomalous couplings in associated VH production with Higgs boson decay to massive b quarks at NNLO in QCD

We combine the NNLO QCD description of Higgs boson production in association with an electroweak vector boson $V = W~{\rm or}~Z$ with a similarly-precise description of Higgs boson decays into a pair of massive $b$ quarks and with the anomalous couplings that modify interactions of the Higgs and electroweak vector bosons. The resulting numerical code provides the most advanced theoretical tool to investigate such anomalous couplings in the associated Higgs boson production process. We study the impact of anomalous couplings on fiducial cross sections and differential distributions and argue that, with increased QCD precision, smaller anomalous couplings become accessible in kinematic regions where the effects of higher-dimensional operators in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory remain small and the EFT expansion is under control.

The overline{B} \u2192 \u03c0 form factors from QCD and their impact on |Vub|

We revisit light-cone sum rules with pion distribution amplitudes to determine the full set of local overline{B} → π form factors. To this end, we determine all duality threshold parameters from a Bayesian fit for the first time. Our results, obtained at small momentum transfer q2, are extrapolated to large q2 where they agree with precise lattice QCD results. We find that a modification to the commonly used BCL parametrization is crucial to interpolate the scalar form factor between the two q2 regions. We provide numerical results for the form factor parameters — including their covariance — based on simultaneous fit of all three form factors to both the sum rule and lattice QCD results. Our predictions for the form factors agree well with measurements of the q2 spectrum of the semileptonic decay {overline{B}}^0to {pi}^{+}{mathrm{ell}}^{-}{overline{nu}}_{mathrm{ell}} . From the world average of the latter we obtain |Vub| = (3.77 ± 0.15) · 10−3, which is in agreement with the most recent inclusive determination at the 1 σ level.

Soft-drop grooming for hadronic event shapes

Soft-drop grooming of hadron-collision final states has the potential to significantly reduce the impact of non-perturbative corrections, and in particular the underlying-event contribution. This eventually will enable a more direct comparison of accurate perturbative predictions with experimental measurements. In this study we consider soft-drop groomed dijet event shapes. We derive general results needed to perform the resummation of suitable event-shape variables to next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) accuracy matched to exact next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD matrix elements. We compile predictions for the transverse-thrust shape accurate to NLO + NLL′ using the implementation of the Caesar formalism in the Sherpa event generator framework. We complement this by state-of-the-art parton- and hadron-level predictions based on NLO QCD matrix elements matched with parton showers. We explore the potential to mitigate non-perturbative corrections for particle-level and track-based measurements of transverse thrust by considering a wide range of soft-drop parameters. We find that soft-drop grooming indeed is very efficient in removing the underlying event. This motivates future experimental measurements to be compared to precise QCD predictions and employed to constrain non-perturbative models in Monte-Carlo simulations.

Energy-energy correlators in deep inelastic scattering

The energy-energy correlator (EEC) is an event shape observable which probes the angular correlations of energy depositions in detectors at high energy collider facilities. It has been investigated extensively in the context of precision QCD. In this work, we introduce a novel definition of EEC adapted to the Breit frame in deep-inelastic scattering (DIS). In the back-to-back limit, the observable we propose is sensitive to the universal transverse momentum dependent (TMD) parton distribution functions and fragmentation functions, and it can be studied within the traditional TMD factorization formalism. We further show that the new observable is insensitive to experimental pseudorapidity cuts, often imposed in the Laboratory frame due to detector acceptance limitations. In this work the singular distributions for the new observable are obtained in soft collinear effective theory up to $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^3)$ and are verified by the full QCD calculations up to $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^2)$. The resummation in the singular limit is performed up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. After incorporating non-perturbative effects, we present a comparison of our predictions to PYTHIA 8 simulations.

New physics effects in leptonic and semileptonic decays

We discuss the possibilities of extracting the constraints on New Physics by using the current data on the leptonic and semileptonic decays of pseudoscalar mesons. In doing so we use a general low energy Lagrangian that besides the vector and axial operators also includes the (pseudo-)scalar and tensor ones. In obtaining constraints on New Physics couplings, we combine the experimental information concerning several decay modes with the accurate and precise lattice QCD results for the hadronic matrix elements. We propose to study new observables that can be extracted from the angular analysis of the semileptonic decays and discuss their values both in the Standard Model and in some specific scenarios of physics beyond the Standard Model.

Precision QCD phenomenology of exotic spin-2 search at the LHC

The complete next-to-next-to leading order (NNLO) QCD correction matched with next-to-next-to leading logarithm (NNLL) has been studied for Drell-Yan production via spin-2 particle at the Large hadron collider (LHC). We consider generic spin-2 particle which couples differently to quarks and gluons (non-universal scenario). The threshold enhanced analytical coefficient has been obtained up to third order using the universal soft function and the process dependent form factors at the same order. We performed a detailed phenomenological analysis and gave a prediction for the 13 TeV LHC for the search of such BSM signature. We found that the resummed result gives sizeable corrections over a wide range of invariant mass of the lepton pair. The scale variation also stabilizes at this order and reduces to 4%. As a by-product, we also provide ingredients for third-order soft-virtual (SV) prediction as well as resummation and study the impact on LHC searches.

Revisiting the role of grooming in DIS

We introduce a novel grooming procedure, which is an extension of the modified MassDrop tagging algorithm, tailored to the needs of deep inelastic scattering (DIS). The new algorithm, which grooms the event as a whole, takes advantage of the natural separation of current and target fragmentation in the Breit frame, in order to eliminate radiation in the beam and central rapidity regions. We study the groomed invariant mass in DIS and within soft-collinear effective theory we construct a factorization theorem for the cross-section in the back-to-back limit. In this limit we show that, up to a normalization factor, the cross-section does not depend on the incoming hadronic matrix element and we propose this measurement at HERA and the future electron-ion collider (EIC) as a probe to hadronization, precision QCD, and cold nuclear matter effects. We also give an event based definition of the Winner-Take-All axis and comment on possible applications.

Transverse-energy-energy correlations in deep inelastic scattering

Event shape observables have been widely used for precision QCD studies at various lepton and hadron colliders. We present the most accurate calculation of the transverse-energy-energy correlation event shape variable in deep-inelastic scattering. In the framework of soft-collinear effective theory the cross section is factorized as the convolution of the hard function, beam function, jet function and soft function in the back-to-back limit. A close connection to TMD factorization is established, as the beam function when combined with part of the soft function is identical to the conventional TMD parton distribution function, and the jet function is the second moment of the TMD fragmentation function matching coefficient. We validate our framework by comparing the obtained LO and NLO leading singular distributions to the full QCD calculations in the back-to-back limit. We report the resummed transverse-energy-energy correlation distributions up to N3LL accuracy matched with the NLO cross section for the production of a lepton and two jets. Our work provides a new way to precisely study TMD physics at the future Electron-Ion Collider.

Meson Condensation

We give a pedagogical review of the properties of the various meson condensation phases triggered by a large isospin or strangeness imbalance. We argue that these phases are extremely interesting and powerful playground for exploring the properties of hadronic matter. The reason is that they are realized in a regime in which various theoretical methods overlap with increasingly precise numerical lattice QCD simulations, providing insight on the properties of color confinement and of chiral symmetry breaking.

IR-improved DGLAP parton shower effects in W+jets in pp collisions at s=7 TeV

We use HERWIRI1.031, a new Monte Carlo event generator for hadron-hadron scattering at high energies, to study the phenomenological effects of our approach of exact amplitude-based resummation in precision QCD calculations. W + jet(s) events with exact NLO QCD corrections are generated in the MG5_aMC@NLO framework and showered by both HERWIRI1.031 and HERWIG6.5 with PTRMS = 0 and PTRMS = 2.2 GeV/c, respectively. Here, PTRMS is the rms value of the intrinsic Gaussian transverse momentum distribution for the partons inside the proton. The differential cross sections for many observables are presented such as the jet rapidities and the jet transverse momenta as well as other event observables such as the scalar sums of transverse momenta of the jets, the missing transverse energy of the jets and the dijets' observables. Finally, we compare our results with the ATLAS and CMS measurements of the W production cross sections in association with jets.

Precision QCD Event Shapes at Hadron Colliders: The Transverse Energy-Energy Correlator in the Back-to-Back Limit.

We present an operator-based factorization formula for the transverse energy-energy correlator (TEEC) hadron collider event shape in the back-to-back (dijet) limit. This factorization formula exhibits a remarkably symmetric form, being a projection onto a scattering plane of a more standard transverse momentum dependent factorization. Soft radiation is incorporated through a dijet soft function, which can be elegantly obtained to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) due to the symmetries of the problem. We present numerical results for the TEEC resummed to next-to-next-to-leading logarithm (NNLL) matched to fixed order at the LHC. Our results constitute the first NNLL resummation for a dijet event shape observable at a hadron collider, and the first analytic result for a hadron collider dijet soft function at NNLO. We anticipate that the theoretical simplicity of the TEEC observable will make it indispensable for precision studies of QCD at the LHC, and as a playground for theoretical studies of factorization and its violation.

Measurement of the Soft-Drop Jet Mass in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

Jet substructure observables have significantly extended the search program for physics beyond the standard model at the Large Hadron Collider. The state-of-the-art tools have been motivated by theoretical calculations, but there has never been a direct comparison between data and calculations of jet substructure observables that are accurate beyond leading-logarithm approximation. Such observables are significant not only for probing the collinear regime of QCD that is largely unexplored at a hadron collider, but also for improving the understanding of jet substructure properties that are used in many studies at the Large Hadron Collider. This Letter documents a measurement of the first jet substructure quantity at a hadron collider to be calculated at next-to-next-to-leading-logarithm accuracy. The normalized, differential cross section is measured as a function of log_{10}ρ^{2}, where ρ is the ratio of the soft-drop mass to the ungroomed jet transverse momentum. This quantity is measured in dijet events from 32.9 fb^{-1} of sqrt[s]=13 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector. The data are unfolded to correct for detector effects and compared to precise QCD calculations and leading-logarithm particle-level MonteCarlo simulations.

Simplicity from recoil: the three-loop soft function and factorization for the energy-energy correlation

We derive an operator based factorization theorem for the energy-energy correlation (EEC) observable in the back-to-back region, allowing the cross section to be written as a convolution of hard, jet and soft functions. We prove the equivalence of the soft functions for the EEC and color singlet transverse-momentum resummation to all-loop order, and give their analytic result to three-loops. Large logarithms appearing in the perturbative expansion of the EEC can be resummed to all orders using renormalization group evolution. We give analytic results for all required anomalous dimensions to three-loop order, providing the first example of a transverse-momentum (recoil) sensitive e+e− event shape whose anomalous dimensions are known at this order. The EEC can now be computed to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithm matched to next-to-next-to-leading order, making it a prime candidate for precision QCD studies and extractions of the strong coupling constant. We anticipate that our factorization theorem will also be crucial for understanding non-perturbative power corrections for the EEC, and their relationship to those appearing in other observables.

Strangeness S=−1 hyperon-nucleon interactions: Chiral effective field theory versus lattice QCD

Hyperon-nucleon interactions serve as basic inputs to studies of hypernuclear physics and dense (neutron) stars. Unfortunately, a precise understanding of these important quantities have lagged far behind that of the nucleon-nucleon interaction due to lack of high precision experimental data. Historically, hyperon-nucleon interactions are either formulated in quark models or meson exchange models. In recent years, lattice QCD simulations and chiral effective field theory approaches start to offer new insights from first principles. In the present work, we contrast the state of art lattice QCD simulations with the latest chiral hyperon-nucleon forces and show that the leading order relativistic chiral results can already describe the lattice QCD data reasonably well. Given the fact that the lattice QCD simulations are performed with pion masses ranging from the (almost) physical point to 700 MeV, such studies provide a highly non-trivial check on both the chiral effective field theory approaches as well as lattice QCD simulations. Nevertheless more precise lattice QCD simulations are eagerly needed to refine our understanding of hyperon-nucleon interactions.