arXiv subjects

Mathieu Pellen

Publications and source records attributed to Mathieu Pellen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

NLO QCD + electroweak predictions for off-shell ttH production at the LHC

In these proceedings, next-to-leading-order (NLO) QCD and electroweak (EW) corrections to ${\rm p}{\rm p} \to {\rm e}^+ ν_{\rm e} μ^- \bar ν_μ{\rm b} \bar{\rm b} {\rm H}$ at the LHC are presented. In these computations the top quarks are considered off their mass shell and all non-resonant contributions are included. The results are presented in the form of fiducial cross sections and differential distributions. Moreover, two prescriptions to combine QCD and EW corrections are examined.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Low-virtuality photon transitions $γ^*\to f\bar f$ and the photon-to-jet conversion function

The calculation of electroweak corrections to processes with jets in the final state involves contributions of low-virtuality photons leading to jets in the final state via the singular splitting $γ^* \to q\bar q$. These singularities can be absorbed into a photon-to-jet "fragmentation function", better called "conversion function", since the physical final state is any hadronic activity rather than an identified hadron. Using unitarity and a dispersion relation, we relate this $γ^* \to q\bar q$ conversion contribution to an integral over the imaginary part of the hadronic vacuum polarization and thus to the experimentally known quantity $Δα^{(5)}_{\mathrm{had}}(M^2_{\rm Z})$. Therefore no unknown non-perturbative contribution remains that has to be taken from experiment. We also describe practical procedures following subtraction and phase-space-slicing approaches for isolating and cancelling the $γ^* \to q\bar q$ singularities against the photon-to-jet conversion function. The production of Z+jet at the LHC is considered as an example, where the photon-to-jet conversion is part of a correction of the order $α^2/α_{\rm s}$ relative to the leading-order cross section.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

VBSCan Thessaloniki 2018 Workshop Summary

This document reports the first year of activity of the VBSCan COST Action network, as summarised by the talks and discussions happened during the VBSCan Thessaloniki 2018 workshop. The VBSCan COST action is aiming at a consistent and coordinated study of vector-boson scattering from the phenomenological and experimental point of view, for the best exploitation of the data that will be delivered by existing and future particle colliders.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

QCD and electroweak corrections to WZ scattering at the LHC

We present the first computation of the full next-to-leading-order QCD and electroweak corrections to the WZ scattering process at the LHC. All off-shell, gauge-boson-decay, and interference effects are taken into account for the process $\mathrm{p} \mathrm{p} \to μ^+μ^-\mathrm{e}^+ν_\mathrm{e} \mathrm{j} \mathrm{j} + X$ at the orders $\mathcal{O}{\left( α_\mathrm{s} α^6 \right)}$ and $\mathcal{O}{\left( α^7 \right)}$. The electroweak corrections feature the typical Sudakov behaviour towards high energy and amount to $-16\%$ relative to the electroweak contribution to the integrated cross section. Moreover, the corrections induce significant shape distortions in differential distributions. The next-to-leading-order analysis of the quark- and gluon-induced channels is supplemented by a leading-order study of all possible contributions to the full $4\ell+2\mbox{jets}$ production cross section in a realistic fiducial phase-space volume.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

A new type of charged black hole bomb

Black hole bombs are usually constructed by surrounding an ergoregion by a mirror. The fields propagating between the event horizon and the mirror are prevented from escaping to infinity and reflected back to the ergoregion, thus undergoing repeated superradiant scattering which leads to a linear instability. We introduce a new construction in which the field is outside the mirror and is therefore prevented from falling into the black hole but is free to escape to infinity. Provided the mirror is inside the ergoregion, it turns out that this still causes linear instabilities. This behaviour is observed on Reissner-Nordstrom and de Sitter-Reissner-Nordstrom backgrounds using numerical simulations, based on a semi-implicit discretisation on a first-order system formulation of the partial differential equations governing the evolution of the scalar field. We also perform simulations for a standard black hole bomb and for another type of contraption: a sandwich black hole bomb.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Off-shell production of top-antitop pairs in the lepton+jets channel at NLO QCD

The production of top-quark pairs that subsequently decay hadronically and leptonically (lepton+jets channel) is one of the key processes for the study of top-quark properties at the LHC. In this article, NLO QCD corrections of order $\mathcal{O}{\left(α_{\rm s}^3α^{4}\right)}$ to the hadronic process ${\rm p}{\rm p}\to μ^-\barν_μ{\rm b}\bar{\rm b} {\rm j} {\rm j}$ are presented. The computation includes off-shell as well as non-resonant contributions, and experimental event selections are used in order to provide realistic predictions. The results are provided in the form of cross sections and differential distributions. The QCD corrections are sizeable and different from the ones of the fully leptonic channel. This is due to the different final state where here four jets are present at leading order.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

NLO QCD and EW corrections to processes involving off-shell top quarks

We review recent results on next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD and electroweak (EW) corrections for processes involving off-shell top quarks. For the off-shell production of two top quarks that decay leptonically, the full NLO EW corrections have been computed. For the very same process in association with a Higgs boson, EW corrections have been calculated and combined with existing NLO QCD corrections. In both cases, selected differential distributions are shown. In these proceedings, particular emphasis is put on the effect of the EW corrections as well as the off-shell contributions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Electroweak corrections to vector-boson scattering

We report on a recent calculation of the complete NLO QCD and electroweak corrections to the process $pp\toμ^+ν_μe^+ν_ejj$, i.e. like-sign charged vector-boson scattering. The computation is based on the complete amplitudes involving two different orders of the strong and electroweak coupling constants at tree level and three different orders at one-loop level. We find electroweak corrections of $-13\%$ for the fiducial cross section that are an intrinsic feature of the vector-boson scattering process. For differential distributions, the corrections reach up to $-40\%$ in the phase-space regions explored. At the NLO level a unique separation between vector-boson scattering and irreducible background processes is not possible any more at the level of Feynman diagrams.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Complete NLO corrections to ${\rm W}^+{\rm W}^+$ scattering and its irreducible background at the LHC

The process ${\rm p}{\rm p}\toμ^+ν_μ{\rm e}^+ν_{\rm e}{\rm j}{\rm j}$ receives several contributions of different orders in the strong and electroweak coupling constants. Using appropriate event selections, this process is dominated by vector-boson scattering (VBS) and has recently been measured at the LHC. It is thus of prime importance to estimate precisely each contribution. In this article we compute for the first time the full NLO QCD and electroweak corrections to VBS and its irreducible background processes with realistic experimental cuts. We do not rely on approximations but use complete amplitudes involving two different orders at tree level and three different orders at one-loop level. Since we take into account all interferences, at NLO level the corrections to the VBS process and to the QCD-induced irreducible background process contribute at the same orders. Hence the two processes cannot be unambiguously distinguished, and all contributions to the $μ^+ν_μ{\rm e}^+ν_{\rm e}{\rm j}{\rm j}$ final state should be preferably measured together.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Automated computations of electroweak corrections using Sherpa+Recola

Given the experimental precision and the multitude of processes that can be measured at the LHC, electroweak (EW) corrections become more and more relevant. This calls for the automatisation of EW corrections and in particular their implementations in multi-purpose Monte Carlo generators in order to allow for a systematic study of such contributions. In these proceedings I present the implementation of the matrix-element generator Recola in the Sherpa Monte Carlo. The combination Sherpa+Recola allows to compute, in principle, any process in the Standard Model at NLO QCD and EW accuracy. In addition to fixed-order NLO computations, all functionalities of Sherpa such as parton shower or hadronisation are still available.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

NLO electroweak corrections to vector-boson scattering at the LHC

Recently, a measurement of the vector-boson scattering process with same-sign W bosons has been reported by the CMS collaboration. Hence it is of prime importance to have precise predictions with next-to-leading order (NLO) accuracy. In these proceedings, we report on a recent NLO electroweak computation to the full process ${\rm p}{\rm p}\toμ^+ν_μ{\rm e}^+ν_{\rm e}{\rm j}{\rm j}$. As realistic experimental event selections are applied to the final state, it can directly be compared with experimental measurements. This is particularly important as the corrections turn out to be surprisingly large and even exceed the NLO QCD corrections. The NLO electroweak predictions are presented at the cross-section and differential distribution level.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Automation of NLO QCD and EW corrections with Sherpa and Recola

This publication presents the combination of the one-loop matrix-element generator Recola with the multipurpose Monte Carlo program Sherpa. Since both programs are highly automated, the resulting Sherpa+Recola framework allows for the computation of -in principle- any Standard Model process at both NLO QCD and EW accuracy. To illustrate this, three representative LHC processes have been computed at NLO QCD and EW: vector-boson production in association with jets, off-shell Z-boson pair production, and the production of a top-quark pair in association with a Higgs boson. In addition to fixed-order computations, when considering QCD corrections, all functionalities of Sherpa, i.e. particle decays, QCD parton showers, hadronisation, underlying events, etc. can be used in combination with Recola. This is demonstrated by the merging and matching of one-loop QCD matrix elements for Drell-Yan production in association with jets to the parton shower. The implementation is fully automatised, thus making it a perfect tool for both experimentalists and theorists who want to use state-of-the-art predictions at NLO accuracy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Large electroweak corrections to vector-boson scattering at the Large Hadron Collider

For the first time full next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to off-shell vector-boson scattering are presented. The computation features the complete matrix elements, including all non-resonant and off-shell contributions, to the electroweak process $\mathrm{p} \mathrm{p} \to μ^+ ν_μ\mathrm{e}^+ ν_{\mathrm{e}} \mathrm{j} \mathrm{j}$. It is fully differential, and event selections are applied to the final states such that the predictions can be directly compared to experimental measurements. The corrections are surprisingly large, reaching -16% for the fiducial cross section and up to -40% in the tails of distributions. These large corrections are due to enhanced logarithms in the bosonic virtual corrections.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Constraints on leptophilic dark matter from the AMS-02 experiment

The annihilation of dark matter particles in the galactic halo of the Milky Way may lead to cosmic ray signatures that can be probed by the AMS-02 experiment, which has measured the composition and fluxes of charged cosmic rays with unprecedented precision. Given the absence of characteristic spectral features in the electron and positron fluxes measured by AMS-02, we derive upper limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section for leptophilic dark matter models. Our limits are based on a new background model that describes all recent measurements of the energy spectra of cosmic ray positrons and electrons. For thermal dark matter relics, we can exclude dark matter masses below about 100 GeV. We include the radiation of electroweak gauge bosons in the dark matter annihilation process and compute the antiproton signal that can be expected within leptophilic dark matter models.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Higgs production in association with off-shell top-antitop pairs at NLO EW and QCD at the LHC

We present NLO electroweak corrections to Higgs production in association with off-shell top-antitop quark pairs. The full process $\text{p}\text{p}\to\text{e}^+ν_{\text{e}} μ^-\barν_μ\text{b}\bar{\text{b}} \text{H}$ is considered, and hence all interference, off-shell, and non-resonant contributions are taken into account. The electroweak corrections turn out to be below one per cent for the integrated cross section but can exceed $10\%$ in certain phase-space regions. In addition to its phenomenological relevance, the computation constitutes a major technical achievement as the full NLO virtual corrections involving up to 9-point functions have been computed exactly. The results of the full computation are supported by two calculations in the double-pole approximation. These also allow to infer the effect of off-shell contributions and emphasise their importance especially for the run II of the LHC. Finally, we present combined predictions featuring both NLO electroweak and QCD corrections in a common set-up that will help the experimental collaborations in their quest of precisely measuring the aforementioned process.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

NLO electroweak corrections to off-shell top-antitop production with leptonic decays at the LHC

For the first time the next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to the full off-shell production of two top quarks that decay leptonically are presented. This calculation includes all off-shell, non-resonant, and interference effects for the 6-particle phase space. While the electroweak corrections are below one per cent for the integrated cross section, they reach up to 15% in the high-transverse-momentum region of distributions. To support the results of the complete one-loop calculation, we have in addition evaluated the electroweak corrections in two different pole approximations, one requiring two on-shell top quarks and one featuring two on-shell W bosons. While the former deviates by up to 10% from the full calculation for certain distributions, the latter provides a very good description for most observables. The increased centre-of-mass energy of the LHC makes the inclusion of electroweak corrections extremely relevant as they are particularly large in the Sudakov regime where new physics is expected to be probed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Electroweak fragmentation functions for dark matter annihilation

Electroweak corrections can play a crucial role in dark matter annihilation. The emission of gauge bosons, in particular, leads to a secondary flux consisting of all Standard Model particles, and may be described by electroweak fragmentation functions. To assess the quality of the fragmentation function approximation to electroweak radiation in dark matter annihilation, we have calculated the flux of secondary particles from gauge-boson emission in models with Majorana fermion and vector dark matter, respectively. For both models, we have compared cross sections and energy spectra of positrons and antiprotons after propagation through the galactic halo in the fragmentation function approximation and in the full calculation. Fragmentation functions fail to describe the particle fluxes in the case of Majorana fermion annihilation into light fermions: the helicity suppression of the lowest-order cross section in such models cannot be lifted by the leading logarithmic contributions included in the fragmentation function approach. However, for other classes of models like vector dark matter, where the lowest-order cross section is not suppressed, electroweak fragmentation functions provide a simple, model-independent and accurate description of secondary particle fluxes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

A comprehensive approach to dark matter studies: exploration of simplified top-philic models

Studies of dark matter lie at the interface of collider physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Constraining models featuring dark matter candidates entails the capability to provide accurate predictions for large sets of observables and compare them to a wide spectrum of data. We present a framework which, starting from a model lagrangian, allows one to consistently and systematically make predictions, as well as to confront those predictions with a multitude of experimental results. As an application, we consider a class of simplified dark matter models where a scalar mediator couples only to the top quark and a fermionic dark sector (i.e. the simplified top-philic dark matter model). We study in detail the complementarity of relic density, direct/indirect detection and collider searches in constraining the multi-dimensional model parameter space, and efficiently identify regions where individual approaches to dark matter detection provide the most stringent bounds. In the context of collider studies of dark matter, we point out the complementarity of LHC searches in probing different regions of the model parameter space with final states involving top quarks, photons, jets and/or missing energy. Our study of dark matter production at the LHC goes beyond the tree-level approximation and we show examples of how higher-order corrections to dark matter production processes can affect the interpretation of the experimental results.

hep-ph↗