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arXiv · 2608.09621

NNLO soft functions for heavy-quark pair production at hadron colliders

Guido Bell·Alessandro Broggio·Sebastian Edelmann·Matthew A. Lim·Rudi Rahn
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Abstract

We generalise the SoftSERVE framework for the automated computation of soft functions involving final-state heavy quarks in back-to-back kinematics up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong-coupling expansion. Our algorithm employs suitable phase-space parameterisations for both massive and mixed massless-massive contributions, allowing for an efficient numerical evaluation. Focusing on SCET$_\mathrm{I}$ observables that satisfy non-Abelian exponentiation, we present explicit results for the 0-jettiness soft function in hadronic top-quark pair production in the form of two-dimensional grids. We describe the renormalisation procedure in detail and discuss the singular behaviour of the tripole colour correlations in the threshold limit.

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Guido Bell, Alessandro Broggio, Sebastian Edelmann, Matthew A. Lim, Rudi Rahn. 2026-08-10. NNLO soft functions for heavy-quark pair production at hadron colliders. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.09621

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