Event generation at MEPS@NLO accuracy in neutral and charged current DIS at the EIC

Abstract

We present state-of-the-art hadron-level predictions for the deep-inelastic scat- tering process at next-to-leading-order precision for several multiplicities, con- sistently merged in one sample. For the first time at this level of accuracy, we consider both neutral and charged current deep-inelastic scattering at the Electron-Ion Collider, and present the first application of consistent next-to- leading-order merging to charged current deep-inelastic scattering in general. We critically examine inclusive predictions using multileg merging techniques, contrasting perturbative and nonperturbative uncertainties. Further, we study typical kinematic deep-inelastic scattering observables as well as jet measure- ments and 1-jettiness with realistic cuts implied by expected and past detector resolution. On the perturbative side, we see large corrections toward small vir- tualities and Bjorken-x, which can be captured by higher-multiplicity matrix elements and the merging procedure. Nonperturbative effects, while negligible in most jet observables, can reach similar size as the perturbative uncertainties around the peak of the 1-jettiness distributions especially at low values of $Q^2$ .