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Pavel Nadolsky

Publications and source records attributed to Pavel Nadolsky.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
arXiv2015

PDF4LHC recommendations for LHC Run II

We provide an updated recommendation for the usage of sets of parton distribution functions (PDFs) and the assessment of PDF and PDF+$α_s$ uncertainties suitable for applications at the LHC Run II. We review developments since the previous PDF4LHC recommendation, and discuss and compare the new generation of PDFs, which include substantial information from experimental data from the Run I of the LHC. We then propose a new prescription for the combination of a suitable subset of the available PDF sets, which is presented in terms of a single combined PDF set. We finally discuss tools which allow for the delivery of this combined set in terms of optimized sets of Hessian eigenvectors or Monte Carlo replicas, and their usage, and provide some examples of their application to LHC phenomenology.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2015

The PDF4LHC report on PDFs and LHC data: Results from Run I and preparation for Run II

The accurate determination of the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) of the proton is an essential ingredient of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) program. PDF uncertainties impact a wide range of processes, from Higgs boson characterisation and precision Standard Model measurements to New Physics searches. A major recent development in modern PDF analyses has been to exploit the wealth of new information contained in precision measurements from the LHC Run I, as well as progress in tools and methods to include these data in PDF fits. In this report we summarise the information that PDF-sensitive measurements at the LHC have provided so far, and review the prospects for further constraining PDFs with data from the recently started Run II. This document aims to provide useful input to the LHC collaborations to prioritise their PDF-sensitive measurements at Run II, as well as a comprehensive reference for the PDF-fitting collaborations.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2015

Impact of heavy-flavour production cross sections measured by the LHCb experiment on parton distribution functions at low x

The impact of recent measurements of heavy-flavour production in deep inelastic $ep$ scattering and in $pp$ collisions on parton distribution functions is studied in a QCD analysis in the fixed-flavour number scheme at next-to-leading order. Differential cross sections of charm- and beauty-hadron production measured by LHCb are used together with inclusive and heavy-flavour production cross sections in deep inelastic scattering at HERA. The heavy-flavour data of the LHCb experiment impose additional constraints on the gluon and the sea-quark distributions at low partonic fractions $x$ of the proton momentum, down to $x \sim 5 \times 10^{-6}$. This kinematic range is currently not covered by other experimental data in perturbative QCD fits.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2014

The CT10 NNLO Global Analysis of QCD

We present next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) parton distribution functions (PDFs) from the CTEQ-TEA group. The CT10NNLO PDF fit is based on essentially the same global data sets used in the CT10 and CT10W NLO PDF analyses. After exploring the goodness of the fits to the HERA combined data and the Tevatron jet data, we present various predictions at NNLO accuracy for both existing and forthcoming precision measurements from the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The range of variations in the gluon distribution introduced by correlated systematic effects in inclusive jet production is also examined.

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arXiv2014

Higgs Boson Cross Section from CTEQ-TEA Global Analysis

We study the uncertainties of the Higgs boson production cross section through the gluon fusion subprocess at the LHC (with $\sqrt s=7, 8$ and $14$ TeV) arising from the uncertainties of the parton distribution functions (PDFs) and of the value of the strong coupling constant $α_s(M_Z)$. These uncertainties are computed by two complementary approaches, based on the Hessian and the Lagrange Multiplier methods within the CTEQ-TEA global analysis framework. We find that their predictions for the Higgs boson cross section are in good agreement. Furthermore, the result of the Lagrange Multiplier method supports the prescriptions we have previously provided for using the Hessian method to calculate the combined PDF and $α_s$ uncertainties, and to estimate the uncertainties at the $68\%$ confidence level by scaling them from the $90\%$ confidence level.

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arXiv2014

A meta-analysis of parton distribution functions

A "meta-analysis" is a method for comparison and combination of nonperturbative parton distribution functions (PDFs) in a nucleon obtained with heterogeneous procedures and assumptions. Each input parton distribution set is converted into a "meta-parametrization" based on a common functional form. By analyzing parameters of the meta-parametrizations from all input PDF ensembles, a combined PDF ensemble can be produced that has a smaller total number of PDF member sets than the original ensembles. The meta-parametrizations simplify the computation of the PDF uncertainty in theoretical predictions and provide an alternative to the 2010 PDF4LHC convention for combination of PDF uncertainties. As a practical example, we construct a META ensemble for computation of QCD observables at the Large Hadron Collider using the next-to-next-to-leading order PDF sets from CTEQ, MSTW, and NNPDF groups as the input. The META ensemble includes a central set that reproduces the average of LHC predictions based on the three input PDF ensembles and Hessian eigenvector sets for computing the combined PDF+$α_s$ uncertainty at a common QCD coupling strength of 0.118.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2013

Parton Distribution Benchmarking with LHC Data

We present a detailed comparison of the most recent sets of NNLO PDFs from the ABM, CT, HERAPDF, MSTW and NNPDF collaborations. We compare parton distributions at low and high scales and parton luminosities relevant for LHC phenomenology. We study the PDF dependence of LHC benchmark inclusive cross sections and differential distributions for electroweak boson and jet production in the cases in which the experimental covariance matrix is available. We quantify the agreement between data and theory by computing the chi2 for each data set with all the various PDFs. PDF comparisons are performed consistently for common values of the strong coupling. We also present a benchmark comparison of jet production at the LHC, comparing the results from various available codes and scale settings. Finally, we discuss the implications of the updated NNLO PDF sets for the combined PDF+alphaS uncertainty in the gluon fusion Higgs production cross section.

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arXiv2012

Optimizing Polar Angle Asymmetry Observables at Colliders

Angular asymmetries are simple, intuitive, model-independent observables used to identify spins of new elementary particles. In the case of Drell-Yan-like boson resonances, we generalize the well-known center-edge angular asymmetry to optimize spin identification when only a limited sample of events is available. By choosing simple weight functions in integrals over the polar angle theta, such as cos theta to the nth power, we can improve spin discrimination significantly in production and decays of spin 0, 1, and 2 bosons. The power n can be tuned in particular cases, but n=2 (n=1) works well for any forward-backward symmetric (non-symmetric) decay to massless particles.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2012

Progress in CTEQ-TEA PDF analysis

Recent developments in the CTEQ-TEA global QCD analysis are presented. The parton distribution functions CT10-NNLO are described, constructed by comparing data from many experiments to NNLO approximations of QCD.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

The PDF4LHC Working Group Interim Report

This document is intended as a study of benchmark cross sections at the LHC (at 7 TeV) at NLO using modern parton distribution functions currently available from the 6 PDF fitting groups that have participated in this exercise. It also contains a succinct user guide to the computation of PDFs, uncertainties and correlations using available PDF sets. A companion note, also submitted to the archive, provides an interim summary of the current recommendations of the PDF4LHC working group for the use of parton distribution functions and of PDF uncertainties at the LHC, for cross section and cross section uncertainty calculations.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

CT10 parton distributions and other developments in the global QCD analysis

We summarize several projects carried out by the CTEQ global analysis of parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton during 2010. We discuss a recently released CT10 family of PDFs with a fixed and variable QCD coupling strength; implementation of combined HERA and Tevatron lepton asymmetry data sets; theoretical issues associated with the analysis of $W$ charge asymmetry in PDF fits; PDFs for leading-order shower programs; and constraints on new color-octet fermions from the hadronic data.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2010

Uncertainty induced by QCD coupling in the CTEQ global analysis of parton distributions

We examine the dependence of parton distribution functions (PDFs) on the value of the QCD coupling strength $α_{s}(M_{Z})$. We explain a simple method that is rigorously valid in the quadratic approximation normally applied in PDF fitting, and fully reproduces the correlated dependence of theoretical cross sections on $α_s$ and PDF parameters. This method is based on a statistical relation that allows one to add the uncertainty produced by $α_s$, computed with some special PDF sets, in quadrature with the PDF uncertainty obtained for the fixed $α_s$ value (such as the CTEQ6.6 PDF set). A series of four CTEQ6.6AS PDFs realizing this approach, for $α_s$ values in the interval $0.116 \leq α_{s}(M_{Z}) \leq 0.120$, is presented. Using these PDFs, the combined $α_{s}$ and PDF uncertainty is assessed for theoretical predictions at the Fermilab Tevatron and Large Hadron Collider.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2010

Parton Distributions for Event Generators

In this paper, conventional Global QCD analysis is generalized to produce parton distributions optimized for use with event generators at the LHC. This optimization is accomplished by combining the constraints due to existing hard-scattering experimental data with those from anticipated cross sections for key representative SM processes at LHC (by the best available theory) as joint input to the global analyses. The PDFs obtained in these new type of global analyses using matrix elements calculated in any given order will be best suited to work with event generators of that order, for predictions at the LHC. This is most useful for LO event generators at present. Results obtained from a few candidate PDF sets (labeled as CT09MCS, CT09MC1 and CT09MC2) for LO event generators produced in this way are compared with those from other approaches.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

All-orders resummation for diphoton production at hadron colliders

We present a QCD calculation of the transverse momentum distribution of photon pairs produced at hadron colliders, including all-orders soft-gluon resummation valid at next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. We specify the region of phase space in which the calculation is most reliable, compare our results with data from the Fermilab Tevatron, and make predictions for the Large Hadron Collider. The uncertainty of predictions for production of diphotons from fragmentation of final-state quarks is examined.

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arXiv2005

Transverse momentum resummation at small x for the Tevatron and LHC

Analysis of semi-inclusive DIS hadroproduction suggests broadening of transverse momentum distributions at $x$ below a few $10^{-3}$, which can be modeled in the Collins-Soper-Sterman formalism by a modification of impact-parameter-dependent parton densities. We discuss the consequences of such a modification for the production of electroweak bosons at hadron-hadron colliders. If substantial small-$x$ broadening is observed in forward Z boson production in the Tevatron Run-2, it will strongly affect predicted transverse momentum distributions for W, Z, and Higgs boson production at the Large Hadron Collider.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2001

Multiple parton radiation in hadroproduction at lepton-hadron colliders

I discuss the impact of the the coherent parton radiation on semi-inclusive production of hadrons in deep inelastic scattering at lepton-proton colliders. Such radiation can be consistently described in the $b$-space resummation formalism, which was originally developed to improve theoretical description of production of hadrons at $e^+e^-$ colliders and electroweak vector bosons at hadron-hadron colliders. I present the detailed derivation of the resummed cross section and the energy flow at the next-to-leading order of perturbative QCD. The theoretical results are compared to the experimental data measured at the $ep$ collider HERA. I argue that semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS) at lepton-hadron colliders offers exceptional opportunities to study coherent parton radiation, which are not available yet at colliders of other types.

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