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Giulia Zanderighi

Publications and source records attributed to Giulia Zanderighi.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The two-jet rate in e^+e^- at next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic order

We present the first next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic resummation for the two-jet rate in $e^+e^-$ annihilation in the Durham and Cambridge algorithms. The results are obtained by extending the ARES method to observables involving any global, recursively infrared and collinear safe jet algorithm in e^+e^- collisions. As opposed to other methods, this approach does not require a factorization theorem for the observables. We present predictions matched to next-to-next-to-leading order, and a comparison to LEP data.

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How bright is the proton? A precise determination of the photon parton distribution function

It has become apparent in recent years that it is important, notably for a range of physics studies at the Large Hadron Collider, to have accurate knowledge on the distribution of photons in the proton. We show how the photon parton distribution function (PDF) can be determined in a model-independent manner, using electron-proton ($ep$) scattering data, in effect viewing the $ep\to e+X$ process as an electron scattering off the photon field of the proton. To this end, we consider an imaginary, beyond Standard Model process with a flavour changing photon-lepton vertex. We write its cross section in two ways, one in terms of proton structure functions, the other in terms of a photon distribution. Requiring their equivalence yields the photon distribution as an integral over proton structure functions. As a result of the good precision of $ep$ data, we constrain the photon PDF at the level of 1-2% over a wide range of momentum fractions.

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QCDLoop: a comprehensive framework for one-loop scalar integrals

We present a new release of the QCDLoop library based on a modern object-oriented framework. We discuss the available new features such as the extension to the complex masses, the possibility to perform computations in double and quadruple precision simultaneously, and useful caching mechanisms to improve the computational speed. We benchmark the performance of the new library, and provide practical examples of phenomenological implementations by interfacing this new library to Monte Carlo programs.

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NNLOPS accurate associated HW production

We present a next-to-next-to-leading order accurate description of associated HW production consistently matched to a parton shower. The method is based on reweighting events obtained with the HW plus one jet NLO accurate calculation implemented in POWHEG, extended with the MiNLO procedure, to reproduce NNLO accurate Born distributions. Since the Born kinematics is more complex than the cases treated before, we use a parametrization of the Collins-Soper angles to reduce the number of variables required for the reweighting. We present phenomenological results at 13 TeV, with cuts suggested by the Higgs Cross Section Working Group.

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Merging WW and WW+jet with MINLO

We present a simulation program for the production of a pair of W bosons in association with a jet, that can be used in conjunction with general-purpose shower Monte Carlo generators, according to the POWHEG method. We have further adapted and implemented the MINLO' method on top of the NLO calculation underlying our WW+jet generator. Thus, the resulting simulation achieves NLO accuracy not only for inclusive distributions in WW+jet production but also WW production, i.e. when the associated jet is not resolved, without the introduction of any unphysical merging scale. This work represents the first extension of the MINLO' method, in its original form, to the case of a genuine underlying 2->2 process, with non-trivial virtual corrections.

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Jet-vetoed Higgs cross section in gluon fusion at N3LO+NNLL with small-R resummation

We present new results for the jet-veto efficiency and zero-jet cross section in Higgs production through gluon fusion. We incorporate the N$^3$LO corrections to the total cross section, the NNLO corrections to the 1-jet rate, NNLL resummation for the jet $p_t$ and LL resummation for the jet radius dependence. Our results include known finite-mass corrections and are obtained using the jet-veto efficiency method, updated relative to earlier work to take into account what has been learnt from the new precision calculations that we include. For 13 TeV collisions and using our default choice for the renormalisation and factorisation scales, $μ_0=m_H/2$, the matched prediction for the jet-veto efficiency increases the pure NNNLO prediction by about 2% and the two have comparable uncertainties. Relative to NNLO+NNLL results, the new prediction is 2% smaller and the uncertainty reduces from more than 10% to less than 5%. Results are also presented for the central scale $μ_0=m_H$.

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Finite quark-mass effects in the NNLOPS POWHEG+MiNLO Higgs generator

We include finite top- and bottom-mass effects in the next-to-next-to-leading order parton shower (NNLOPS) event generator for inclusive Higgs boson production in gluon fusion based upon the POWHEG+MiNLO approach. Since fixed-order results for quark-mass effects only reach NLO accuracy, we add them to the NNLOPS generator at that accuracy. We explore uncertainties related to the unknown all-order logarithmic structure of bottom-mass effects by comparing the assumption of full exponentiation to no exponentiation at all. Phenomenological results showing the effects of finite quark-masses in the NNLOPS simulation are presented. These suggest that the aforementioned uncertainty is well contained within the envelope of plain renormalization and factorization scale uncertainties.

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NNLOPS accurate Drell-Yan production

We present a next-to-next-to-leading order accurate description of Drell-Yan lepton pair production processes through $γ^*/Z$ or $W$ exchange that includes consistently parton shower effects. Results are obtained by upgrading the vector-boson plus one jet NLO calculation in POWHEG with the MiNLO procedure and by applying an appropriate reweighting procedure making use of the DYNNLO program. We compare to existing data and to accurate resummed calculations.

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Electroweak $ZZjj$ production in the Standard Model and beyond in the POWHEG-BOX V2

We present an implementation of electroweak $ZZjj$ production in the POWHEG BOX V2 framework, an upgrade of the POWHEG BOX program which includes a number of new features that are particularly helpful for high-multiplicity processes. We consider leptonic and semi-leptonic decay modes of the Z bosons, and take non-resonant contributions and spin correlations of the final-state particles into account. In the case of decays to leptons, we also include interactions beyond the Standard Model that arise from an effective Lagrangian which includes CP conserving and violating operators up to dimension six. We find that while leptonic distributions are very sensitive to anomalous couplings, because of the small cross-section involved, these analyses are feasible only after a high-luminosity upgrade of the LHC. We consider the cases of a 14 TeV, 33 TeV and 100 TeV machine and discuss the limits that can be placed on those couplings for different luminosities.

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W+W-, WZ and ZZ production in the POWHEG BOX V2

We present an implementation of the vector boson pair production processes ZZ, W+W- and WZ within the POWHEG BOX V2. This implementation, derived from the POWHEG BOX version, has several improvements over the old one, among which the inclusion of all decay modes of the vector bosons, the possibility to generate different decay modes in the same run, speed optimization and phase space improvements in the handling of interference and singly resonant contributions.

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NNLOPS simulation of Higgs boson production

We detail a simulation of Higgs boson production via gluon fusion, accurate at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling, including matching to a parton shower, yielding a fully exclusive, hadron-level description of the final-state. The approach relies on the POWHEG method for merging the NLO Higgs plus jet cross-section with the parton shower, and on the MINLO method to simultaneously achieve NLO accuracy for inclusive Higgs boson production. The NNLO accuracy is reached by a reweighting procedure making use of the HNNLO program.

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W and Z bosons in association with two jets using the POWHEG method

In this work we present the implementation of generators for W and Z bosons in association with two jets interfaced to parton showers using the POWHEG BOX. We incorporate matrix elements from the parton-level Monte Carlo program MCFM in the POWHEG BOX, allowing for a considerable improvement in speed compared to previous implementations. We address certain problems that arise when processes that are singular at the Born level are implemented in a shower framework using either a generation cut or a Born suppression factor to yield weighted events. In such a case, events with very large weights can be generated after the shower through a number of mechanisms. Events with very small transverse momentum at the Born level can develop large transverse momentum either after the hardest emission, after the shower, or after the inclusion of multi-parton interactions. We present a solution to this problem that can be easily implemented in the POWHEG BOX. We also show that a full solution to this problem can only be achieved if the generator maintains physical validity also when the transverse momentum of the emitted partons becomes unresolved. One such scheme is the recently-proposed MiNLO method for the choice of scale and the exponentiation of Sudakov form factors in NLO computations. We present a validation study of our generators, by comparing their output to available LHC data.

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Merging H/W/Z + 0 and 1 jet at NLO with no merging scale: a path to parton shower + NNLO matching

We consider the POWHEG generator for a H/W/Z boson plus one jet, augmented with the recently proposed MiNLO method for the choice of scales and the inclusion of Sudakov form factors. Within this framework, the generator covers all the transverse-momentum region of the H/W/Z boson, i.e. no generation cuts are needed to obtain a finite result. By construction, the generator achieves NLO accuracy for distributions involving a finite (and relatively large) transverse momentum of the boson. We examine the conditions under which also the totally inclusive distributions (e.g. the boson rapidity distribution) achieve NLO accuracy. We find that a minimal modification of the MiNLO prescription is sufficient to achieve such accuracy. We thus construct a NLO generator for H/W/Z boson plus one jet production such that it smoothly merges into a NLO single boson production in the small transverse-momentum region. We notice that, by simply reweighting the boson rapidity distribution to NNLO predictions, we achieve a NNLO accurate generator matched to a shower. The approach applies to all production processes involving a colorless massive system plus one jet. We discuss how it may be extended to general processes.

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Electroweak W+W-jj prodution at NLO in QCD matched with parton shower in the POWHEG-BOX

We present an implementation of electroweak W+W-jj production at hadron colliders in the POWHEG framework, a method that allows the interfacing of a next-to-leading order QCD calculation with parton shower Monte Carlo programs. We provide results for both, fully and semi-leptonic decay modes of the weak bosons, taking resonant and non-resonant contributions and spin correlations of the final-state particles into account. To illustrate the versatility of our implementation, we provide phenomenological results for two representative scenarios with a light and with a heavy Higgs boson, respectively, and in a kinematic regime of highly boosted gauge bosons. The impact of the parton shower is found to depend on the setup and the observable under investigation. In particular, distributions related to a central-jet veto are more sensitive to these effects. Therefore the impact of radiation by the parton shower on next-to-leading order predictions should be assessed carefully on a case-by-case basis.

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NLL+NNLO predictions for jet-veto efficiencies in Higgs-boson and Drell-Yan production

Using the technology of the CAESAR approach to resummation, we examine the jet-veto efficiency in Higgs-boson and Drell-Yan production at hadron colliders and show that at next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) accuracy the resummation reduces to just a Sudakov form factor. Matching with NNLO calculations results in stable predictions for the case of Drell-Yan production, but reveals substantial uncertainties in gluon-fusion Higgs production, connected in part with the poor behaviour of the perturbative series for the total cross section. We compare our results to those from POWHEG with and without reweighting by HqT, as used experimentally, and observe acceptable agreement. In an appendix we derive the part of the NNLL resummation corrections associated with the radius dependence of the jet algorithm.

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One-loop calculations in quantum field theory: from Feynman diagrams to unitarity cuts

The success of the experimental program at the Tevatron re-inforced the idea that precision physics at hadron colliders is desirable and, indeed, possible. The Tevatron data strongly suggests that one-loop computations in QCD describe hard scattering well. Extrapolating this observation to the LHC, we conclude that knowledge of many short-distance processes at next-to-leading order may be required to describe the physics of hard scattering. While the field of one-loop computations is quite mature, parton multiplicities in hard LHC events are so high that traditional computational techniques become inefficient. Recently new approaches based on unitarity have been developed for calculating one-loop scattering amplitudes in quantum field theory. These methods are especially suitable for the description of multi-particle processes in QCD and are amenable to numerical implementations. We present a systematic pedagogical description of both conceptual and technical aspects of the new methods.

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Higgs and Z-boson production with a jet veto

We derive first next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic resummations for jet-veto efficiencies in Higgs and Z-boson production at hadron colliders. Matching with next-to-next-to-leading order results allows us to provide a range of phenomenological predictions for the LHC, including cross-section results, detailed uncertainty estimates and comparisons to current widely-used tools.

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