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D. Maitre

Publications and source records attributed to D. Maitre.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2010

Next-to-Leading Order QCD Predictions for Z,gamma^*+3-Jet Distributions at the Tevatron

Using BlackHat in conjunction with SHERPA, we have computed next-to-leading order QCD predictions for a variety of distributions in Z,gamma*+1,2,3-jet production at the Tevatron, where the Z boson or off-shell photon decays into an electron-positron pair. We find good agreement between the NLO results for jet p_T distributions and measurements by CDF and D0. We also present jet-production ratios, or probabilities of finding one additional jet. As a function of vector-boson p_T, the ratios have distinctive features which we describe in terms of a simple model capturing leading logarithms and phase-space and parton-distribution-function suppression.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2010

Automation of Multi-leg One-loop virtual Amplitudes

In the last few years, much progress has been made in the computation of one-loop virtual matrix elements for processes involving many external particles. In this contribution the methods that have enabled this recent progress are briefly reviewed with a focus on their computing and automation aspects.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2010

Vector Boson + Jets with BlackHat and Sherpa

We review recent NLO QCD results for W,Z + 3-jet production at hadron colliders, computed using BlackHat and SHERPA. We also include some new results for Z + 3-jet production at the LHC at 7 TeV. We report new progress towards the NLO cross section for W + 4-jet production. In particular, we show that the virtual matrix elements produced by BlackHat are numerically stable. We also show that with an improved integrator and tree-level matrix elements from BlackHat, SHERPA produces well-behaved real-emission contributions. As an illustration, we present the real-emission contributions -- including dipole-subtraction terms -- to the p_T distribution of the fourth jet, for a single subprocess with the maximum number of gluons.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2010

A proposal for a standard interface between Monte Carlo tools and one-loop programs

Many highly developed Monte Carlo tools for the evaluation of cross sections based on tree matrix elements exist and are used by experimental collaborations in high energy physics. As the evaluation of one-loop matrix elements has recently been undergoing enormous progress, the combination of one-loop matrix elements with existing Monte Carlo tools is on the horizon. This would lead to phenomenological predictions at the next-to-leading order level. This note summarises the discussion of the next-to-leading order multi-leg (NLM) working group on this issue which has been taking place during the workshop on Physics at TeV colliders at Les Houches, France, in June 2009. The result is a proposal for a standard interface between Monte Carlo tools and one-loop matrix element programs.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

Next-to-Leading Order QCD Predictions for W+3-Jet Distributions at Hadron Colliders

We present next-to-leading order QCD predictions for a variety of distributions in W+3-jet production at both the Tevatron and the Large Hadron Collider. We include all subprocesses and incorporate the decay of the W boson into leptons. Our results are in excellent agreement with existing Tevatron data and provide the first quantitatively precise next-to-leading order predictions for the LHC. We include all terms in an expansion in the number of colors, confirming that the specific leading-color approximation used in our previous study is accurate to within three percent. The dependence of the cross section on renormalization and factorization scales is reduced significantly with respect to a leading-order calculation. We study different dynamical scale choices, and find that the total transverse energy is significantly better than choices used in previous phenomenological studies. We compute the one-loop matrix elements using on-shell methods, as numerically implemented in the BlackHat code. The remaining parts of the calculation, including generation of the real-emission contributions and integration over phase space, are handled by the SHERPA package.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

NLO QCD Predictions for W+3 jets

In this contribution we present results from the NLO computation of the production of a $W$ boson in association with three jets in hadronic collisions. The results are obtained by combining two programs: {\tt BlackHat} for the virtual one-loop matrix elements and {\tt Sherpa} for the real-emission contributions. We present results for the Tevatron and the LHC, and address the issue of the choice of a common factorization and renormalization scale for this process.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

Multi-jet cross sections at NLO with BlackHat and Sherpa

In this talk, we report on a recent next-to-leading order QCD calculation of the production of a W boson in association with three jets at hadron colliders. The computation is performed by combining two programs, BlackHat for the computation of the virtual one-loop matrix elements and Sherpa for the real emission part.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

Precise Predictions for W + 3 Jet Production at Hadron Colliders

We report on the first next-to-leading order QCD computation of W + 3-jet production in hadronic collisions including all partonic subprocesses. We compare the results with CDF data from the Tevatron, and find excellent agreement. The renormalization and factorization scale dependence is reduced substantially compared to leading-order calculations. The required one-loop matrix elements are computed using on-shell methods, implemented in a numerical program, BlackHat. We use the SHERPA package to generate the real-emission contributions and to integrate the various contributions over phase space. We use a leading-color (large-N_c) approximation for the virtual part, which we confirm in W + 1,2-jet production to be valid to within three percent. The present calculation demonstrates the utility of on-shell methods for computing next-to-leading-order corrections to processes important to physics analyses at the Large Hadron Collider.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

Two-Loop QCD Corrections to the Heavy-to-Light Quark Decay

We present an analytic expression for the two-loop QCD corrections to the decay process b -> u W^*, where b and u are a massive and massless quark, respectively, while W^* is an off-shell charged weak boson. Since the W-boson can subsequently decay in a lepton anti-neutrino pair, the results of this paper are a first step towards a fully analytic computation of differential distributions for the semileptonic decay of a b-quark. The latter partonic process plays a crucial role in the study of inclusive semileptonic charmless decays of B-mesons. The three independent form factors characterizing the b W u vertex are provided in form of a Laurent series in (d-4), where d is the space-time dimension. The coefficients in the series are expressed in terms of Harmonic Polylogarithms of maximal weight 4, and are functions of the invariant mass of the leptonic decay products of the W-boson.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

One-Loop Multi-Parton Amplitudes with a Vector Boson for the LHC

In this talk, we present the first, numerically stable, results for the one-loop amplitudes needed for computing W,Z + 3 jet cross sections at the LHC to next-to-leading order in the QCD coupling. We implemented these processes in BlackHat, an automated program based on on-shell methods. These methods scale very well with increasing numbers of external partons, and are applicable to a wide variety of problems of phenomenological interest at the LHC.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

One-Loop Calculations with BlackHat

We describe BlackHat, an automated C++ program for calculating one-loop amplitudes, and the techniques used in its construction. These include the unitarity method and on-shell recursion. The other ingredients are compact analytic formulae for tree amplitudes for four-dimensional helicity states. The program computes amplitudes numerically, using analytic formulae only for the tree amplitudes, the starting point for the recursion, and the loop integrals. We make use of recently developed on-shell methods for evaluating coefficients of loop integrals, in particular a discrete Fourier projection as a means of improving numerical stability. We illustrate the good numerical stability of this approach by computing six-, seven- and eight-gluon amplitudes in QCD and comparing against known analytic results.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

Two-Loop Fermionic Corrections to Heavy-Quark Pair Production: the Quark-Antiquark Channel

We evaluate the fermionic two-loop QCD corrections to the heavy-quark pair production process in the quark-antiquark channel. We obtain analytic results which are valid for any value of the Mandelstam invariants s and t, and of the heavy quark mass m. Our findings confirm previous results for the analytic evaluation in the small-mass limit and numerical results for the exact amplitude. We furthermore provide the expansion of the two-loop amplitude at the production threshold s ~ 4m^2.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

An Automated Implementation of On-Shell Methods for One-Loop Amplitudes

We present the first results from BlackHat, an automated C++ program for calculating one-loop amplitudes. The program implements the unitarity method and on-shell recursion to construct amplitudes. As input to the calculation, it uses compact analytic formulae for tree amplitudes for four-dimensional helicity states. The program performs all related computations numerically. We make use of recently developed on-shell methods for evaluating coefficients of loop integrals, introducing a discrete Fourier projection as a means of improving efficiency and numerical stability. We illustrate the numerical stability of our approach by computing and analyzing six-, seven- and eight-gluon amplitudes in QCD and comparing against previously-obtained analytic results.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

Master Integrals for Fermionic Contributions to Massless Three-Loop Form Factors

In this letter we continue the calculation of master integrals for massless three-loop form factors by giving analytical results for those integrals which are relevant for the fermionic contributions proportional to N_F^2, N_F*N, and N_F/N. Working in dimensional regularisation, we express one of the integrals in a closed form which is exact to all orders in epsilon, containing Gamma-functions and hypergeometric functions of unit argument. In all other cases we derive multiple Mellin-Barnes representations from which the coefficients of the Laurent expansion in epsilon are extracted in an analytical form. To obtain the finite part of the three-loop quark and gluon form factors, all coefficients through transcendentality six in the Riemann zeta-function have to be included.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2007

S@M, a Mathematica Implementation of the Spinor-Helicity Formalism

In this paper we present the package S@M (Spinors@Mathematica) which implements the spinor-helicity formalism in Mathematica. The package allows the use of complex-spinor algebra along with the multi-purpose features of Mathematica. The package defines the spinor objects with their basic properties along with functions to manipulate them. It also offers the possibility of evaluating the spinorial objects numerically at every computational step. The package is therefore well suited to be used in the context of on-shell technology, in particular for the evaluation of scattering amplitudes at tree- and loop-level.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

Antenna subtraction with hadronic initial states

The antenna subtraction method for the computation of higher order corrections to jet observables and exclusive cross sections at collider experiments is extended to include hadronic initial states. In addition to the already known antenna subtraction with both radiators in the final state (final-final antennae), we introduce antenna subtractions with one or two radiators in the initial state (initial-final or initial-initial antennae). For those, we derive the phase space factorization and discuss the allowed phase space mappings at NLO and NNLO. We present integrated forms for all antenna functions relevant to NLO calculations, and describe the construction of the full antenna subtraction terms at NLO on two examples. The extension of the formalism to NNLO is outlined.

hep-ph↗