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A. Scharf

Publications and source records attributed to A. Scharf.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

The BAGLE Python Package for Bayesian Analysis of Gravitational Lensing Events

We present the open-source Python package, BAGLE (Bayesian Analysis of Gravitational Lensing Events), which enables modeling and joint fitting of photometric and astrometric data sets. We describe the model parameterizations and present the equations for microlensing events containing either a point-source, point-lens or a finite-source, point-lens geometry both with and without microlensing parallax due to the motion of the Earth or a satellite around the Sun. Conversions between different coordinate reference frames are also derived. We compare our model light curves to those from other papers and microlens modeling software, finding good agreement, although with some differences in finite-source models at a ~1% level detectable with upcoming observations from space-based facilities. We also use BAGLE to demonstrate the impact of changing lens mass, lens distance, and blended source flux fraction on photometric lightcurves and astrometric trajectories in preparation for upcoming Gaia data releases and the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and its Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS). In particular, we show that Roman GBTDS will detect significant microlensing parallax signals for events that are 2x shorter in duration than from ground-based surveys. Additionally, long-duration events with durations of $\t_{E,\odot} >$ 100 days will yield microlensing parallax uncertainties of ${\sigma}_{\pi_E} <$ 0.01 with Roman, enabling confident identification of isolated stellar-mass black holes that can be modeled both astrometrically and photometrically with BAGLE for precise mass determinations. BAGLE is an open-source code and community development is encouraged.

astro-ph.SR

Weak Interactions in Top-Quark Pair Production at Hadron Colliders: An Update

Weak corrections for top-quark pair production at hadron colliders are revisited. Predictions for collider energies of 8 TeV, adopted to the recent LHC run, and for 13 as well as 14 TeV, presumably relevant for the next round of LHC experiments, are presented. Kinematic regions with large momentum transfer are identified, where the corrections become large and may lead to strong distortions of differential distributions, thus mimicking anomalous top quark couplings. As a complementary case we investigate the threshold region, corresponding to configurations with small relative velocity between top and antitop quark, which is particularly sensitive to the top-quark Yukawa coupling. We demonstrate, that nontrivial upper limits on this coupling, complementary to those recently derived by the CMS and the ATLAS collaorations, are well within reach of ongoing experiments. In addition we suggest a prescription that allows the implementation of these corrections in current Monte Carlo generators. Furthermore, the weak corrections have been included in the publicly available Hathor library. The numerical results presented in this article use the same setup as the recently calculated NNLO QCD corrections. The results can thus be combined to give the most precise theoretical predictions.

hep-ph

Weak effects in b-jet production at hadron colliders

One of the main challenges of the Tevatron at Fermilab and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is the determination of Standard Model (SM) parameters at the TeV scale. In this context various processes will be investigated which involve bottom-quark jets in the final state, for example decays of top-quarks or gauge bosons of the weak interaction. Hence the theoretical understanding of processes with bottom-quark jets is necessary. In this paper analytic results will be presented for the weak corrections to bottom-quark jet production -- neglecting purely photonic corrections. The results will be used to study differential distributions, where sizeable effects are observed.

hep-ph

Electroweak effects in top-quark pair production at Hadron Colliders

Top-quark physics plays an important role at hadron colliders such as the Tevatron collider at Fermilab or the upcoming Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Given the planned experimental precision, detailed theoretical predictions are mandatory. In this article we present analytic results for the complete electroweak corrections to gluon induced top-quark pair production, completing our earlier results for the quark-induced reaction. As an application we discuss top-quark pair production at Tevatron and at LHC. In particular we show that, although small for inclusive quantities, weak corrections can be sizeable for differential distribution.

hep-ph

Electroweak corrections to top-quark pair production in quark--antiquark annihilation

Top-quark physics plays an important role at hadron colliders such as the Tevatron at Fermilab or the LHC at CERN. Given the planned precision at these colliders, precise theoretical predictions are required. In this paper we present the complete electroweak corrections to QCD-induced top-quark pair production in quark--antiquark annihilation. In particular we provide compact analytic expressions for the differential partonic cross section, which will be useful for further theoretical investigations.

hep-ph