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S. Moch

Publications and source records attributed to S. Moch.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2017

Parton Distribution Functions, $α_s$ and Heavy-Quark Masses for LHC Run II

We determine a new set of parton distribution functions (ABMP16), the strong coupling constant $α_s$ and the quark masses $m_c$, $m_b$ and $m_t$ in a global fit to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD. The analysis uses the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme for $α_s$ and all quark masses and is performed in the fixed-flavor number scheme for $n_f=3, 4, 5$. Essential new elements of the fit are the combined data from HERA for inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (DIS), data from the fixed-target experiments NOMAD and CHORUS for neutrino-induced DIS, and data from Tevatron and the LHC for the Drell-Yan process and the hadro-production of single-top and top-quark pairs. The theory predictions include new improved approximations at NNLO for the production of heavy quarks in DIS and for the hadro-production of single-top quarks. The description of higher twist effects relevant beyond the leading twist collinear factorization approximation is refined. At NNLO we obtain the value $α_s^{(n_f=5)}(M_Z) = 0.1147 \pm 0.0008$.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2016

Prompt neutrino fluxes in the atmosphere with PROSA parton distribution functions

Effects on atmospheric prompt neutrino fluxes of present uncertainties affecting the nucleon composition are studied by using the PROSA fit to parton distribution functions (PDFs). The PROSA fit extends the precision of the PDFs to low x, which is the kinematic region of relevance for high-energy neutrino production, by taking into account LHCb data on charm and bottom hadroproduction. In the range of neutrino energies explored by present Very Large Volume Neutrino Telescopes, it is found that PDF uncertainties are far smaller with respect to those due to renormalization and factorization scale variation and to assumptions on the cosmic ray composition, which at present dominate and limit our knowledge of prompt neutrino fluxes. A discussion is presented on how these uncertainties affect the expected number of atmospheric prompt neutrino events in the analysis of high-energy events characterized by interaction vertices fully contained within the instrumented volume of the detector, performed by the IceCube collaboration.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2016

Determination of the top-quark mass from hadro-production of single top-quarks

We present a new determination of the top-quark mass $m_t$ based on the experimental data from the Tevatron and the LHC for single-top hadro-production. We use the inclusive cross sections of $s$- and $t$-channel top-quark production to extract $m_t$ and to minimize the dependence on the strong coupling constant and the gluon distribution in the proton compared to the hadro-production of top-quark pairs. As part of our analysis we compute the next-to-next-to-leading order approximation for the $s$-channel cross section in perturbative QCD based on the known soft-gluon corrections and implement it in the program Hathor for the numerical evaluation of the hadronic cross section. Results for the top-quark mass are reported in the $\bar{MS}$ and in the on-shell renormalization scheme.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2016

PDFs, $α_s$, and quark masses from global fits

The strong coupling constant $α_s$ and the heavy-quark masses, $m_c$, $m_b$, $m_t$ are extracted simultaneosly with the parton distribution functions (PDFs) in the updated ABM12 fit including recent data from CERN-SPS, HERA, Tevatron, and the LHC. The values of \begin{eqnarray} \nonumber α_s(M_Z)&=&0.1147\pm0.0008~({\rm exp.)},\\ \nonumber m_c(m_c)&=&1.252\pm 0.018~({\rm exp.})~{\rm GeV},\\ \nonumber m_b(m_b)&=&3.83\pm0.12~({\rm exp.})~{\rm GeV},\\ \nonumber m_t(m_t)&=&160.9\pm1.1~({\rm exp.})~{\rm GeV} \end{eqnarray} are obtained with the $\overline{MS}$ heavy-quark mass definition being employed throughout the analysis.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2016

The new ABMP16 PDF

We present an update of the ABM12 PDF analysis including improved constraints due to the final version of the inclusive DIS HERA data, the Tevatron and LHC data on the W- and Z-production and those on heavy-quark production in the electron- and neutrino-induced DIS at HERA and the fixed-target experiments NOMAD and CHORUS. We also check the impact of the Tevatron and LHC top-quark production data on the PDFs and the strong coupling constant. We obtain $α_s(M_Z)=0.1145(9)$ and $0.1147(8)$ with and without the top-quark data included, respectively.

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arXiv2016

On the next-to-next-to-leading order QCD corrections to heavy-quark production in deep-inelastic scattering

The contribution of quarks with masses m >> Lambda_QCD is the only part of the structure functions in deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) which is not yet known at the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) of perturbative QCD. We present improved partial NNLO results for the most important structure function F_2(x,Q^2) near the partonic threshold, in the high-energy (small-x) limit and at high scales Q^2 >> m^2; and employ these results to construct approximations for the gluon and quark coefficient functions which cover the full kinematic plane. The approximation uncertainties are carefully investigated, and found to be large only at very small values, x smaller about 10^-3, of the Bjorken variable.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2016

A Critical Appraisal and Evaluation of Modern PDFs

We review the present status of the determination of parton distribution functions (PDFs) in the light of the precision requirements for the LHC in Run 2 and other future hadron colliders. We provide brief reviews of all currently available PDF sets and use them to compute cross sections for a number of benchmark processes, including Higgs boson production in gluon-gluon fusion at the LHC. We show that the differences in the predictions obtained with the various PDFs are due to particular theory assumptions made in the fits of those PDFs. We discuss PDF uncertainties in the kinematic region covered by the LHC and on averaging procedures for PDFs, such as advocated by the PDF4LHC15 sets, and provide recommendations for the usage of PDF sets for theory predictions at the LHC.

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arXiv2016

Physics at a 100 TeV pp collider: Standard Model processes

This report summarises the properties of Standard Model processes at the 100 TeV pp collider. We document the production rates and typical distributions for a number of benchmark Standard Model processes, and discuss new dynamical phenomena arising at the highest energies available at this collider. We discuss the intrinsic physics interest in the measurement of these Standard Model processes, as well as their role as backgrounds for New Physics searches.

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arXiv2016

Prompt neutrino flux in the atmosphere revisited

Prompt neutrino fluxes due to the interactions of high-energy cosmic rays with the Earth's atmosphere are backgrounds in the search for high-energy neutrinos of galactic or extra-galactic origin performed by Very Large Volume Neutrino Telescopes. We summarize our predictions for prompt neutrinos, showing their basic features as emerging from the calculation in a QCD framework capable of describing recent charm data from the Large Hadron Collider.

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arXiv2016

Two-loop conformal generators for leading-twist operators in QCD

QCD evolution equations in minimal subtraction schemes have a hidden symmetry: One can construct three operators that commute with the evolution kernel and form an $SL(2)$ algebra, i.e. they satisfy (exactly) the $SL(2)$ commutation relations. In this paper we find explicit expressions for these operators to two-loop accuracy going over to QCD in non-integer $d=4-2ε$ space-time dimensions at the intermediate stage. In this way conformal symmetry of QCD is restored on quantum level at the specially chosen (critical) value of the coupling, and at the same time the theory is regularized allowing one to use the standard renormalization procedure for the relevant Feynman diagrams. Quantum corrections to conformal generators in $d=4-2ε$ effectively correspond to the conformal symmetry breaking in the physical theory in four dimensions and the $SL(2)$ commutation relations lead to nontrivial constraints on the renormalization group equations for composite operators. This approach is valid to all orders in perturbation theory and the result includes automatically all terms that can be identified as due to a nonvanishing QCD $β$-function (in the physical theory in four dimensions). Our result can be used to derive three-loop evolution equations for flavor-nonsinglet quark-antiquark operators including mixing with the operators containing total derivatives. These equations govern, e.g., the scale dependence of generalized hadron parton distributions and light-cone meson distribution amplitudes.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2016

Summary of workshop on Future Physics with HERA Data

Recent highlights from the HERA experiments, Hermes, H1 and ZEUS, are reviewed and ideas for future analyses to fully exploit this unique data set are proposed. This document is a summary of a workshop on future physics with HERA data held at DESY, Hamburg at the end of 2014. All areas of HERA physics are covered and contributions from both experimentalists and theorists are included. The document outlines areas where HERA physics can still make a significant contribution, principally in a deeper understanding of QCD, and its relevance to other facilities. Within the framework of the Data Preservation in High Energy Physics, the HERA data have been preserved for analyses to take place over a timescale of 10 years and more. Therefore, although an extensive list of possibilities is presented here, safe storage of the data ensures that it can also be used in the far future should new ideas and analyses be proposed.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2015

Present theoretical uncertainties on charm hadroproduction in QCD and prompt neutrino fluxes

Prompt neutrino fluxes are basic backgrounds in the search of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin, performed by means of full-size neutrino telescopes located at Earth, under ice or under water. Predictions for these fluxes are provided on the basis of up-to-date theoretical results for charm hadroproduction in perturbative QCD, together with a comprehensive discussion of the various sources of theoretical uncertainty affecting their computation, and a quantitative estimate of each uncertainty contribution.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2015

High-precision $α_s$ measurements from LHC to FCC-ee

This document provides a writeup of all contributions to the workshop on "High precision measurements of $α_s$: From LHC to FCC-ee" held at CERN, Oct. 12--13, 2015. The workshop explored in depth the latest developments on the determination of the QCD coupling $α_s$ from 15 methods where high precision measurements are (or will be) available. Those include low-energy observables: (i) lattice QCD, (ii) pion decay factor, (iii) quarkonia and (iv) $τ$ decays, (v) soft parton-to-hadron fragmentation functions, as well as high-energy observables: (vi) global fits of parton distribution functions, (vii) hard parton-to-hadron fragmentation functions, (viii) jets in $e^\pm$p DIS and $γ$-p photoproduction, (ix) photon structure function in $γ$-$γ$, (x) event shapes and (xi) jet cross sections in $e^+e^-$ collisions, (xii) W boson and (xiii) Z boson decays, and (xiv) jets and (xv) top-quark cross sections in proton-(anti)proton collisions. The current status of the theoretical and experimental uncertainties associated to each extraction method, the improvements expected from LHC data in the coming years, and future perspectives achievable in $e^+e^-$ collisions at the Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee) with $\cal{O}$(1--100 ab$^{-1}$) integrated luminosities yielding 10$^{12}$ Z bosons and jets, and 10$^{8}$ W bosons and $τ$ leptons, are thoroughly reviewed. The current uncertainty of the (preliminary) 2015 strong coupling world-average value, $α_s(m_Z)$ = 0.1177 $\pm$ 0.0013, is about 1\%. Some participants believed this may be reduced by a factor of three in the near future by including novel high-precision observables, although this opinion was not universally shared. At the FCC-ee facility, a factor of ten reduction in the $α_s$ uncertainty should be possible, mostly thanks to the huge Z and W data samples available.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2015

Iso-spin asymmetry of quark distributions and implications for single top-quark production at the LHC

We present an improved determination of the up- and down-quark distributions in the proton using recent data on charged lepton asymmetries from $W^\pm$ gauge-boson production at the LHC and Tevatron. The analysis is performed in the framework of a global fit of parton distribution functions. The fit results are consistent with a non-zero iso-spin asymmetry of the sea, $x(\bar d - \bar u)$, at small values of Bjorken $x\sim 10^{-4}$ indicating a delayed onset of the Regge asymptotics of a vanishing $(\bar d - \bar u)$-asymmetry at small-$x$. We compare with up- and down-quark distributions available in the literature and provide accurate predictions for the production of single top-quarks at the LHC, a process which can serve as a standard candle for the light quark flavor content of the proton.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2015

Lepton fluxes from atmospheric charm revisited

We update predictions for lepton fluxes from the hadroproduction of charm quarks in the scattering of primary cosmic rays with the Earth's atmosphere. The calculation of charm-pair hadroproduction applies the latest results from perturbative QCD through next-to-next-to-leading order and modern parton distributions, together with estimates on various sources of uncertainties. Our predictions for the lepton fluxes turn out to be compatible, within the uncertainty band, with recent results in the literature. However, by taking into account contributions neglected in previous works, our total uncertainties are much larger. The predictions are crucial for the interpretation of results from neutrino experiments like IceCube, when disentangling signals of neutrinos of astrophysical origin from the atmospheric background.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2015

On gamma_5 in higher-order QCD calculations and the NNLO evolution of the polarized valence distribution

We discuss the prescription for the Dirac matrix gamma_5 in dimensional regularization used in most second- and third-order QCD calculations of collider cross sections. We provide an alternative implementation of this approach that avoids the use of an explicit form of gamma_5 and of its (anti-) commutation relations in the most important case of no more than one gamma_5 in each fermion trace. This treatment is checked by computing the third-order corrections to the structure functions F_2 and g_1 in charged-current deep-inelastic scattering with axial-vector couplings to the W-bosons. We derive the so far unknown third-order helicity-difference splitting function Delta P_ns^(2)s that contributes to the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) evolution of the polarized valence quark distribution of the nucleon. This function is negligible at momentum fractions x >~ 0.3 but relevant at x << 1.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2015

Nucleon PDF separation with the collider and fixed-target data

We consider the impact of the recent data obtained by the LHC, Tevatron, and fixed-target experiments on the nucleon quark distributions with a particular focus on disentangling different quark species. An improved determination of the poorly known strange sea distribution is obtained due to including data from the neutrino-induced deep-inelastic scattering experiments NOMAD and CHORUS. The impact of the associated (W + c) production data by CMS and ATLAS on the strange sea determination is also studied and a comparison with earlier results based on the collider data is discussed. Finally, the recent LHC and Tevatron data on the charged lepton asymmetry are compared to the NNLO ABM predictions and the potential of this input in improving the non-strange sea distributions is evaluated.

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