Narrow-width approximation limitations
The quality of the narrow-width approximation is examined for partonic and convolved cross sections of sample processes. By comparison with accurate predictions significant limitations are revealed.
hep-ph↗
arXiv subjects
N. Kauer
Publications and source records attributed to N. Kauer.
Multi-Higgs boson production in the Standard Model and beyond
We present a calculation of the loop-induced processes gg -> HH and gg -> HHH, and investigate the observability of multi-Higgs boson production at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the Standard Model (SM) and beyond. While the SM cross sections are too small to allow observation at the LHC, we demonstrate that physics beyond the SM can lead to amplified, observable cross sections. Furthermore, the applicability of the heavy top quark approximation in two- and three-Higgs boson production is investigated. We conclude that multi-Higgs boson production at the SuperLHC is an interesting probe of Higgs sectors beyond the SM and warrants further study.
hep-ph↗
Gluon-induced W-boson pair production at the LHC
Pair production of W bosons constitutes an important background to Higgs boson and new physics searches at the Large Hadron Collider LHC. We have calculated the loop-induced gluon-fusion process gg -> W*W* -> leptons, including intermediate light and heavy quarks and allowing for arbitrary invariant masses of the W bosons. While formally of next-to-next-to-leading order, the gg -> W*W* -> leptons process is enhanced by the large gluon flux at the LHC and by experimental Higgs search cuts, and increases the next-to-leading order WW background estimate for Higgs searches by about 30%. We have extended our previous calculation to include the contribution from the intermediate top-bottom massive quark loop and the Higgs signal process. We provide updated results for cross sections and differential distributions and study the interference between the different gluon scattering contributions. We describe important analytical and numerical aspects of our calculation and present the public GG2WW event generator.
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New one-loop techniques and first applications to LHC phenomenology
In this talk we describe our approach for the computation of multi-leg one-loop amplitudes and present some first results relevant for LHC phenomenology.
hep-ph↗
Les Houches Physics at TeV Colliders 2005, Standard Model and Higgs working group: Summary report
This Report summarises the activities of the "SM and Higgs" working group for the Workshop "Physics at TeV Colliders", Les Houches, France, 2-20 May, 2005. On the one hand, we performed a variety of experimental and theoretical studies on standard candles (such as W, Z, and ttbar production), treating them either as proper signals of known physics, or as backgrounds to unknown physics; we also addressed issues relevant to those non-perturbative or semi-perturbative ingredients, such as Parton Density Functions and Underlying Events, whose understanding will be crucial for a proper simulation of the actual events taking place in the detectors. On the other hand, several channels for the production of the Higgs, or involving the Higgs, have been considered in some detail. The report is structured into four main parts. The first one deals with Standard Model physics, except the Higgs. A variety of arguments are treated here, from full simulation of processes constituting a background to Higgs production, to studies of uncertainties due to PDFs and to extrapolations of models for underlying events, from small-$x$ issues to electroweak corrections which may play a role in vector boson physics. The second part of the report treats Higgs physics from the point of view of the signal. In the third part, reviews are presented on the current status of multi-leg, next-to-leading order and of next-to-next-to-leading order QCD computations. Finally, the fourth part deals with the use of Monte Carlos for simulation of LHC physics.
hep-ph↗
Gluon-induced WW background to Higgs boson searches at the LHC
Vector-boson pair production is an important background for Higgs boson and new physics searches at the Large Hadron Collider LHC. We have calculated the loop-induced gluon-fusion process gg -> WW -> leptons, allowing for arbitrary invariant masses of the intermediate W bosons. This process contributes at O(alpha_s^2) relative to quark-antiquark annihilation, but its importance is enhanced by the large gluon flux at the LHC and by experimental cuts employed in Higgs boson searches. We find that gg -> WW provides only a moderate correction (ca. 5%) to the inclusive W-pair production cross section at the LHC. However, after taking into account realistic experimental cuts, the gluon-fusion process becomes significant and increases the theoretical WW background estimate for Higgs searches in the pp -> H -> WW -> leptons channel by approximately 30%.
hep-ph↗
Towards pair production near threshold with unstable particle effective theory
We illustrate the use of effective theory techniques to describe processes involving unstable particles close to resonance. First, we present the main ideas in the context of a scalar resonance in an Abelian gauge-Yukawa model. We then outline the necessary modifications to describe W-pair production close to threshold in electron-positron collisions.
hep-ph↗
The Higgs Working Group: Summary Report 2003
Theoretical progress in Higgs boson production and background processes is discussed with particular emphasis on QCD corrections at and beyond next-to-leading order as well as next-to-leading order electroweak corrections. The residual theoretical uncertainties of the investigated processes are estimated in detail. Moreover, recent investigations of the MSSM Higgs sector and other extensions of the SM Higgs sector are presented. The potential of the LHC and a high-energy linear e+e- collider for the measurement of Higgs couplings is analyzed.
hep-ph↗
Top Background Extrapolation for H -> WW Searches at the LHC
A leading order (LO) analysis is presented that demonstrates that key top backgrounds to H -> W^+W^- -> l^\pm l^\mp \sla{p}_T decays in weak boson fusion (WBF) and gluon fusion (GF) at the CERN Large Hadron Collider can be extrapolated from experimental data with an accuracy of order 5% to 10%. If LO scale variation is accepted as proxy for the theoretical error, parton level results indicate that the tt~j background to the H -> WW search in WBF can be determined with a theoretical error of about 5%, while the tt~ background to the H -> WW search in GF can be determined with a theoretical error of better than 1%. Uncertainties in the parton distribution functions contribute an estimated 3% to 10% to the total error.
hep-ph↗
Les Houches 'Physics at Tev Colliders 2003' QCD/SM Working Group: Summary Report
This report documents the results obtained by the Working Group on Quantum Chromodynamics and the Standard Model for the Workshop `Physics at TeV Colliders'', Les Houches, France, 26 May - 6 June 2003. After a Monte Guide description, the first contributions report on progress in describing multiple interactions, important for the LHC, and underlying events. An announcement of a Monte Carlo database, under construction, is then followed by a number of contributions improving parton shower descriptions. Subsequently, a large number of contributions address resummations in various forms, after which follow studies of QCD effects in pion pair, top quark pair and photon pair plus jet production. After a study of electroweak corrections to hadronic precision observables, the report ends by presenting recent progress in methods to compute finite order corrections at one-loop with many legs, and at two-loop.
hep-ph↗
Top Pair Production Beyond Double-Pole Approximation: pp, pp~ --> 6 Fermions and 0, 1 or 2 Additional Partons
Hadron collider cross sections for tt~ production and di-lepton, single-lepton and all-jet decays with up to 2 additional jets are calculated using complete LO matrix elements with 6-, 7- and 8-particle final states. The fixed-width, complex-mass and overall-factor schemes (FWS, CMS & OFS) are employed and the quality of narrow-width and double-pole approximations (NWA & DPA) is investigated for inclusive production and suppressed backgrounds to new particle searches. NWA and DPA cross sections differ by 1% or less. The inclusion of sub- and non-resonant amplitudes effects a cross section increase of 5-8% at pp supercolliders, but only minor changes at the Tevatron. On-shell tt~/Wtb backgrounds for the H --> WW decay in weak boson fusion, the hadronic τdecay of a heavy H^\pm and the ϕ--> hh --> ττbb~ radion decay at the LHC are updated, with corrections ranging from 3% to 30%. FWS and CMS cross sections are uniformly consistent, but OFS cross sections are up to 6% smaller for some backgrounds.
hep-ph↗
SINGINT: Automatic numerical integration of singular integrands
We explore the combination of deterministic and Monte Carlo methods to facilitate efficient automatic numerical computation of multidimensional integrals with singular integrands. Two adaptive algorithms are presented that employ recursion and are runtime and memory optimised, respectively. SINGINT, a C implementation of the algorithms, is introduced and its utilisation in the calculation of particle scattering amplitudes is exemplified.
physics.comp-ph↗
Finite-Width Effects in Top Quark Production at Hadron Colliders
Production cross sections for t\bar{t} and t\bar{t}j events at hadron colliders are calculated, including finite width effects and off resonance contributions for the entire decay chain, t --> bW --> b\ellν, for both top quarks. Resulting background rates to Higgs search at the CERN LHC are updated for inclusive H --> WW studies and for H --> ττand H --> WW decays in weak boson fusion events. Finite width effects are large, increasing t\bar{t}(j) rates by 20% or more, after typical cuts which are employed for top-background rejection.
hep-ph↗
H-->WW as the discovery mode for a light Higgs boson
The production cross section for a m_H=115 GeV, SM Higgs boson in weak boson fusion at the LHC is sizable. However, the branching fraction for H-->WW is expected to be relatively small. The signal, with its two forward jets, is sufficiently different from the main backgrounds that a signal to background ratio of better than 1:1 can nevertheless be obtained, with large enough rate to allow for a 5 sigma signal with 35 fb^{-1} of data. The H-->WW signal in weak boson fusion may thus prove to be the discovery mode for the Higgs boson at the LHC.
hep-ph↗
Comparison of Next-to-Leading Order Calculations for Jet Cross Sections in Deep-Inelastic Scattering
We compare different next-to-leading order calculations of jet cross sections in deep-inelastic scattering as implemented in the programs DISASTER++, DISENT, JETVIP and MEPJET. In all phase space regions under study DISENT and DISASTER++ agree better than 2%. MEPJET shows systematic deviations of being typically 5-8% lower than the other programs. The JETVIP results show a significant dependence on the phase space slicing parameter $y_{\rm cut}$. In the cases where the $y_{\rm cut}$ dependence within $10^{-4} \le y_{\rm cut} \le 10^{-3}$ is smaller than 3% the JETVIP results are often comparable with the DISENT and DISASTER++ results.
hep-ph↗
NLO QCD predictions for internal jet shapes in DIS at HERA
The transverse momentum flow inside jets is a sensitive measure of internal jet structure. For the current jets in deep inelastic scattering this jet shape measure is determined at order alpha_s^2, i.e. with up to three partons inside a single jet. The scale dependence of jet shapes in various jet algorithms is discussed. Results agree well with recent measurements by the ZEUS Collaboration, without introducing the hadronization parameter R_sep.
hep-ph↗
$Wγγ$ Production at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider: Gauge Invariance and Radiation Amplitude Zero
The electroweak process $p\bar p \to \ell^\pmνγγ$ is calculated at tree level, including finite W width effects. In order to obtain a gauge invariant amplitude, the imaginary parts of $WWγ$ triangle graphs and $WWγγ$ box diagrams have to be included, in addition to resumming the imaginary contributions to the W polarization. We demonstrate the existence of a radiation amplitude zero in $p\bar p \to W^\pm γγ\to \ell^\pmνγγ$, and discuss how it may be observed in correlations of the $γγ$ and lepton rapidities at the Fermilab Tevatron.
hep-ph↗