arXiv subjects

Guido Bell

Publications and source records attributed to Guido Bell.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

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

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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arXiv2026

$B_c \to \eta_c$ form factors at large recoil: SCET analysis and a three-loop consistency check

The double-logarithmic series of non-relativistic $B_c \to \eta_c$ form factors at large recoil is governed by a coupled set of integral equations, reflecting an intricate interplay between arbitrarily many soft-quark and soft-gluon exchanges. Whereas we previously derived these integral equations with diagrammatic resummation techniques, we analyze the form factors in the limit $m_b \gg m_c \gg \Lambda_{\rm QCD}$ with methods from Soft-Collinear Effective Theory (SCET) in this work. Although the resulting factorization theorem for the so-called soft-overlap contribution is known to be spoilt by endpoint divergences, it can still be used at the level of bare (regularized) quantities at any fixed order in perturbation theory. By calculating the required ingredients, we show that the SCET analysis confirms the predictions of the integral equations up to three-loop order. We also argue that the iterative structure and the intertwined soft-quark and soft-gluon effects can be derived from standard renormalization-group equations of the $B_c$-meson light-cone distribution amplitudes, provided their inverse moments are regularized with an appropriate cutoff.

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arXiv2025

Subatomic Heroes

Sharing the amazing achievements of the (particle) physics world with the general public is at the heart of the mission of the Subatomic Heroes, based at the University of Siegen, Germany. Originally this started out as an endeavor of theoretical particle physics, now we are steadily spreading out to cover and include more branches of physics and science. Our activities range from merging art with public physics lectures via marvelous artistic performances at the local theater, over dedicated events for high-school students, to our Subatomic Heroes channel on Instagram and TikTok where you may also find out when and where our famous "hadronic ice-cream" will be served next! So follow us on https://www.instagram.com/subatomic_heroes and https://www.tiktok.com/@subatomic_heroes.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2024

$B_c \to \eta_c$ form factors at large recoil: Interplay of soft-quark and soft-gluon dynamics

We perform an all-order analysis of double-logarithmic corrections to the so-called soft-overlap contribution to heavy-to-light transition form factors at large hadronic recoil. Specifically, we study $B_c \to \eta_c$ transitions within a perturbative non-relativistic framework, treating both the bottom and charm quarks as heavy with the hierarchy $m_b \gg m_c \gg\Lambda_{\rm QCD}$. Our diagrammatic analysis shows that double-logarithmic corrections arise from two distinct sources: Exponentiated soft-gluon effects described by standard Sudakov factors, and rapidity-ordered soft-quark configurations, leading to implicit integral equations, which so far have only been studied in the context of energetic muon-electron backward scattering. We find that the all-order structure of the double logarithms is governed by a novel type of coupled integral equations, which encode the non-trivial interplay between these two effects. Whereas a closed-form solution to these equations is currently unknown, we present useful iteration formulas, and derive the asymptotic behaviour of the soft-overlap form factor for infinitely large recoil energies, showing that the Sudakov suppression is somewhat weakened by the intertwined soft-quark and soft-gluon corrections. In a broader context, our findings shed light onto the physical origin and mathematical structure of endpoint divergences arising from soft-collinear factorization and the related Feynman mechanism for power-suppressed hard exclusive processes.

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arXiv2024

NNLO beam functions for angularity distributions

The popular class of angularity event shapes provides a wealth of information on the hadronic final-state distribution in collider events. While initially proposed for $e^+ e^-$ collisions, angularities have more recently attracted considerable interest as a jet substructure observable at hadron colliders. Moreover, angularities can be measured as a global event shape in deep inelastic electron-nucleon scattering (DIS), and the respective factorisation theorem contains a beam function that parametrises the collinear initial-state radiation. In the present work, we compute the quark and gluon beam functions for seven different angularities to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong-coupling expansion. Our calculation is based on an automated framework that was previously developed for SCET-2 observables, and which we transfer in the current work to the generic SCET-1 case. Our results are relevant for resumming DIS angularity distributions at NNLL$'$ accuracy.

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arXiv2024

Revisiting strong-coupling determinations from $e^+ e^-$ event shapes

We reassess the theoretical uncertainties of strong-coupling determinations from a global fit to the $e^+ e^-$ thrust data, focusing in particular on the scheme dependence associated with the applied renormalon-cancellation prescription and on the choice of scale parameters that are used to estimate higher-order perturbative corrections in all sectors of the calculation.

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arXiv2024

The NNLO gluon beam function for jet-veto resummation

We compute the gluon beam function for jet-veto resummation to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong-coupling expansion. Our calculation is based on an automated framework that was previously used for the computation of the respective quark beam function, and which we significantly extended for the present calculation. In particular, the perturbative matching kernels are directly calculated in momentum space, without the need to perform an additional Mellin transform. We present results for both gluon and quark-initiated processes, which we cross-checked with an independent semi-analytical method that exploits the similarity of the beam functions to the more familiar case of transverse-momentum resummation. Our computation is relevant for jet-veto resummations at NNLL$'$ accuracy.

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arXiv2023

The NNLO soft function for N-jettiness in hadronic collisions

We compute the N-jettiness soft function in hadronic collisions to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong-coupling expansion. Our calculation is based on an extension of the SoftSERVE framework to soft functions that involve an arbitrary number of lightlike Wilson lines. We present numerical results for 1-jettiness and 2-jettiness, and illustrate that our formalism carries over to a generic number of jets by calculating a few benchmark points for 3-jettiness. We also perform a detailed analytic study of the asymptotic behaviour of the soft-function coefficients at the edges of phase space, when one of the jets becomes collinear to another jet or beam direction, and comment on previous calculations of the N-jettiness soft function.

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arXiv2023

N$^3$LL resummation of one-jettiness for $Z$-boson plus jet production at hadron colliders

We present the resummation of one-jettiness for the colour-singlet plus jet production process $p p \to ( \gamma^*/Z \to \ell^+ \ell^-) + {\text{jet}}$ at hadron colliders up to the fourth logarithmic order (N$^3$LL). This is the first resummation at this order for processes involving three coloured partons at the Born level. We match our resummation formula to the corresponding fixed-order predictions, extending the validity of our results to regions of the phase space where further hard emissions are present. This result paves the way for the construction of next-to-next-to-leading order simulations for colour-singlet plus jet production matched to parton showers in the GENEVA framework.

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arXiv2023

Effects of Renormalon Scheme and Perturbative Scale Choices on Determinations of the Strong Coupling from $e^+e^-$ Event Shapes

We study the role of renormalon cancellation schemes and perturbative scale choices in extractions of the strong coupling constant $\alpha_s(m_Z)$ and the leading non-perturbative shift parameter $\Omega_1$ from resummed predictions of the $e^+e^-$ event shape thrust. We calculate the thrust distribution to N$^{3}$LL$^\prime$ resummed accuracy in Soft-Collinear Effective Theory (SCET) matched to the fixed-order $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^2)$ prediction, and perform a new high-statistics computation of the $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_s^3)$ matching in EERAD3, although we do not include the latter in our final $\alpha_s$ fits due to some observed systematics that require further investigation. We are primarily interested in testing the phenomenological impact sourced from varying amongst three renormalon cancellation schemes and two sets of perturbative scale profile choices. We then perform a global fit to available data spanning center-of-mass energies between 35-207 GeV in each scenario. Relevant subsets of our results are consistent with prior SCET-based extractions of $\alpha_s(m_Z)$, but we are also led to a number of novel observations. Notably, we find that the combined effect of altering the renormalon cancellation scheme and profile parameters can lead to few-percent-level impacts on the extracted values in the $\alpha_s-\Omega_1$ plane, indicating a potentially important systematic theory uncertainty that should be accounted for. We also observe that fits performed over windows dominated by dijet events are typically of a higher quality than those that extend into the far tails of the distributions, possibly motivating future fits focused more heavily in this region. Finally, we discuss how different estimates of the three-loop soft matching coefficient $c_{\tilde{S}}^3$ can also lead to measurable changes in the fitted $\lbrace \alpha_s, \Omega_1 \rbrace$ values.

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arXiv2023

Soft-overlap contribution to $B_c \to \eta_c$ form factors: diagrammatic resummation of double logarithms

Using diagrammatic resummation techniques, we investigate the double-logarithmic series of the "soft-overlap" contribution to $B_c \to \eta_c$ transition form factors at large hadronic recoil, assuming the scale hierarchy $m_b \gg m_c \gg \Lambda_{\rm QCD}$. In this case, the hadronic bound states can be treated in the non-relativistic approximation and the relevant hadronic matrix elements can be computed perturbatively. This setup defines one of the simplest examples to study the problem of endpoint singularities appearing in the factorization of exclusive $B$-decay amplitudes. We find that the leading double logarithms arise from a peculiar interplay of soft-quark "endpoint logarithms" from ladder diagrams with energy-ordered spectator-quark propagators, as well as standard Sudakov-type soft-gluon corrections. We elucidate the all-order systematics, and show that their resummation proceeds via a novel type of integral equations. The current status of the calculation, which includes all double logarithms in the Abelian limit, is reported.

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arXiv2022

Automated Calculation of Beam Functions at NNLO

We present an automated framework for the calculation of beam functions that describe collinear initial-state radiation at hadron colliders at next-to-next-to leading order (NNLO) in perturbation theory. By exploiting the infrared behaviour of the collinear matrix elements, we factorise the phase-space singularities with suitable observable-independent parametrisations. Our numerical approach applies to a large class of collider observables, and as a check of its validity, we compute the quark beam functions for transverse-momentum resummation and N-jettiness, which are known analytically at this order, finding excellent agreement.

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arXiv2022

The NNLO quark beam function for jet-veto resummation

We consider the quark beam function that describes collinear initial-state radiation that is constrained by a veto on reconstructed jets. As the veto is imposed on the transverse momenta of the jets, the beam function is subject to rapidity divergences, and we use the collinear-anomaly framework to extract the perturbative matching kernels to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong-coupling expansion. Our calculation is based on a novel framework that automates the computation of beam functions in Mellin space and it provides the ingredients to extend jet-veto resummations for quark-initiated processes to NNLL$'$ accuracy.

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arXiv2022

Muon-electron backward scattering: a prime example for endpoint singularities in SCET

We argue that energetic muon-electron scattering in the backward direction can be viewed as a template case to study the resummation of large logarithms related to endpoint divergences appearing in the effective-theory formulation of hard-exclusive processes. While it is known since the mid sixties that the leading double logarithms from QED corrections resum to a modified Bessel function on the amplitude level, the modern formulation in Soft-Collinear Effective Theory (SCET) shows a surprisingly complicated and iterative pattern of endpoint-divergent convolution integrals. In contrast to the bottom-quark induced $h \to \gamma\gamma$ decay, for which a renormalized factorization theorem has been proposed recently, we find that rapidity logarithms generate an infinite tower of collinear-anomaly exponents. This can be understood as a generic consequence of the underlying $2\to 2$ kinematics. Using endpoint refactorization conditions for the collinear matrix elements, we show how the Bessel function is reproduced in the effective theory from consistency relations between quantities in a "bare" factorization theorem.

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arXiv2021

Automation of Beam and Jet functions at NNLO

We present a novel framework to streamline the calculation of jet and beam functions to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbation theory. By exploiting the infrared behaviour of the collinear splitting functions, we factorise the singularities with suitable phase-space parametrisations and perform the observable-dependent integrations numerically. We have implemented our approach in the publicly available code {\tt pySecDec} and present first results for sample jet and beam functions.

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arXiv2020

Generic dijet soft functions at two-loop order: uncorrelated emissions

We extend our algorithm for automating the calculation of two-loop dijet soft functions to observables that do not obey the non-Abelian exponentiation theorem, i.e. to those that require an independent calculation of the uncorrelated-emission contribution. As the singularity structure of uncorrelated double emissions differs substantially from the one for correlated emissions, we introduce a novel phase-space parametrisation that isolates the corresponding divergences. The resulting integrals are implemented in SoftSERVE 1.0, which we release alongside of this work, and which we supplement by a regulator that is consistent with the rapidity renormalisation group framework. Using our automated setup, we confirm existing results for various jet-veto observables and provide a novel prediction for the soft-drop jet-grooming algorithm.

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arXiv2020

Two-loop non-leptonic penguin amplitude in QCD factorization

We complete the calculation of the QCD penguin amplitude at next-to-next-to-leading order in the QCD factorization approach to non-leptonic B-meson decays. This provides the last missing piece in the computation of the QCD correction to direct CP asymmetries at leading power in the heavy-quark expansion.

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arXiv2019

Non-leptonic B-decays at two loops in QCD Factorization

We report on the calculation of the two-loop penguin amplitudes in non-leptonic B decays in the framework of QCD factorization. We discuss the computation of this genuine two-loop, two-scale problem and provide details on the matching from QCD onto SCET, the evaluation of the master integrals, and the convolution of the hard scattering kernels with the light-cone distribution amplitude of the light meson. Preliminary results on the size of the two-loop correction are given.

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