arXiv subjects

Simone Marzani

Publications and source records attributed to Simone Marzani.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

A study of jet mass distributions with grooming

We perform a phenomenological study of the invariant mass distribution of hadronic jets produced in proton-proton collisions, in conjunction a grooming algorithm. In particular, we consider the modified MassDrop Tagger (mMDT), which corresponds to Soft Drop with angular exponent $β=0$. Our calculation, which is differential in both jet mass and jet transverse momentum, resums large logarithms of the jet mass, including the full dependence on the groomer's energy threshold $z_\text{cut}$, and it is matched to fixed-order QCD matrix elements at next-to-leading order. In order to account for non-perturbative contributions, originating from the hadronisation process and from the underlying event, we also include a phenomenological correction factor derived from Monte Carlo parton-shower simulations. Furthermore, we consider two different possibilities for the jet transverse momentum: before or after grooming. We show that the former should be preferred for comparisons with upcoming experimental data essentially because the mMDT transverse momentum spectrum is not collinear safe.

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arXiv2017

Vector boson production in joint resummation

We study the transverse momentum ($Q_T$) distribution of an electro-weak vector boson produced via the Drell-Yan mechanism, in the context of joint resummation. This formalism allows for the simultaneous resummation of logarithmic contributions that are enhanced at small $Q_T$ and at partonic threshold. We extend joint resummation to next-to-next-to leading logarithmic accuracy and we present resummed and matched results for three different phenomenological setups. In particular, we study the production of a $Z$ boson at the Tevatron and at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as well as the production of a heavier $Z^\prime$ at the LHC. We compare our findings to standard $Q_T$ resummation, as well as to fixed-order perturbation theory. We find that joint resummation provides a moderate (but not flat) correction with respect to $Q_T$ resummation and it leads to a reduction of the scale dependence of the results. However, our study also shows some limitations of this formalism. While the use of joint resummation for $Z$ production at the Tevatron and $Z^\prime$ production at the LHC appears to be justified, our implementation suffers from a stronger dependence on power corrections for processes which are further away from threshold, such as $Z$ production at the LHC, for which we cannot claim an improvement over standard $Q_T$ resummation.

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arXiv2016

Small-$x$ resummation from HELL

Small-$x$ logarithmic enhancements arising from high-energy gluon emissions affect both the evolution of collinearly-factorized parton densities and partonic coefficient functions. With the higher collider energy reached by the LHC, the prospect of a future high-energy collider, and the recent deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) results at small-$x$ from HERA, providing phenomenological tools for performing small-$x$ resummation has become of great relevance. In this paper we discuss a framework to perform small-$x$ resummation for both parton evolution and partonic coefficient functions and we describe its implementation in a computer code named High-Energy Large Logarithms (HELL). We present resummed and matched results for the DGLAP splitting functions and, as a proof of principle, for the massless structure functions in DIS.

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arXiv2016

The Higgs transverse momentum spectrum with finite quark masses beyond leading order

We apply the leading-log high-energy resummation technique recently derived by some of us to the transverse momentum (pt) distribution for production of a Higgs boson in gluon fusion. We use our results to obtain information on mass-dependent corrections to this observable, which is only known at leading order when exact mass dependence is included. In the low pt region we discuss the all-order exponentiation of collinear bottom mass logarithms. In the high pt region we show that the infinite top mass approximation loses accuracy as a power of pt, while the accuracy of the high-energy approximation is approximately constant as pt grows. We argue that a good approximation to the NLO result for pt >~200 GeV can be obtained by combining the full LO result with a K-factor computed using the high-energy approximation.

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arXiv2016

On the Higgs cross section at N$^3$LO+N$^3$LL and its uncertainty

We consider the inclusive production of a Higgs boson in gluon-fusion and we study the impact of threshold resummation at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy (N$^3$LL) on the recently computed fixed-order prediction at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N$^3$LO). We propose a conservative, yet robust way of estimating the perturbative uncertainty from missing higher (fixed- or logarithmic-) orders. We compare our results with two other different methods of estimating the uncertainty from missing higher orders: the Cacciari-Houdeau Bayesian approach to theory errors, and the use of algorithms to accelerate the convergence of the perturbative series. We confirm that the best convergence happens at $μ_R=μ_F=m_H\,/\,2$, and we conclude that a reliable estimate of the uncertainty from missing higher orders on the Higgs cross section at 13 TeV is approximately $\pm4$%.

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arXiv2016

Thinking outside the ROCs: Designing Decorrelated Taggers (DDT) for jet substructure

We explore the scale-dependence and correlations of jet substructure observables to improve upon existing techniques in the identification of highly Lorentz-boosted objects. Modified observables are designed to remove correlations from existing theoretically well-understood observables, providing practical advantages for experimental measurements and searches for new phenomena. We study such observables in $W$ jet tagging and provide recommendations for observables based on considerations beyond signal and background efficiencies.

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arXiv2016

NLO+NLL squark and gluino production cross-sections with threshold-improved parton distributions

We present updated predictions for the cross-sections for pair production of squarks and gluinos at the LHC Run II. First of all, we update the calculations based on NLO+NLL partonic cross-sections by using the NNPDF3.0NLO global analysis. This study includes a full characterization of theoretical uncertainties from higher orders, PDFs and the strong coupling. Then, we explore the implications for this calculation of the recent NNPDF3.0 PDFs with NLO+NLL threshold resummation. We find that the shift in the results induced by the threshold-improved PDFs is within the total theory uncertainty band of the calculation based on NLO PDFs. However, we also observe that the central values of the cross-sections are modified both in a qualitative and a quantitative way, illustrating the relevance and impact of using threshold-improved PDFs together with resummed partonic cross-sections. The updated NLO+NLL cross-sections based on NNPDF3.0NLO are publicly available in the NLL-fast format, and should be an important ingredient for the interpretation of the searches for supersymmetric particles at Run II.

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arXiv2015

Top Quark Pair Production beyond NNLO

We construct an approximate expression for the total cross section for the production of a heavy quark-antiquark pair in hadronic collisions at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N$^3$LO) in $α_s$. We use a technique which exploits the analyticity of the Mellin space cross section, and the information on its singularity structure coming from large N (soft gluon, Sudakov) and small N (high energy, BFKL) all order resummations, previously introduced and used in the case of Higgs production. We validate our method by comparing to available exact results up to NNLO. We find that N$^3$LO corrections increase the predicted top pair cross section at the LHC by about 4% over the NNLO.

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arXiv2015

Parton distributions with threshold resummation

We construct a set of parton distribution functions (PDFs) in which fixed-order NLO and NNLO calculations are supplemented with soft-gluon (threshold) resummation up to NLL and NNLL accuracy respectively, suitable for use in conjunction with any QCD calculation in which threshold resummation is included at the level of partonic cross sections. These resummed PDF sets, based on the NNPDF3.0 analysis, are extracted from deep-inelastic scattering, Drell-Yan, and top quark pair production data, for which resummed calculations can be consistently used. We find that, close to threshold, the inclusion of resummed PDFs can partially compensate the enhancement in resummed matrix elements, leading to resummed hadronic cross-sections closer to the fixed-order calculation. On the other hand, far from threshold, resummed PDFs reduce to their fixed-order counterparts. Our results demonstrate the need for a consistent use of resummed PDFs in resummed calculations.

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arXiv2015

Sudakov Safety in Perturbative QCD

Traditional calculations in perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD) are based on an order-by-order expansion in the strong coupling $α_s$. Observables that are calculable in this way are known as "safe". Recently, a class of unsafe observables was discovered that do not have a valid $α_s$ expansion but are nevertheless calculable in pQCD using all-orders resummation. These observables are called "Sudakov safe" since singularities at each $α_s$ order are regulated by an all-orders Sudakov form factor. In this letter, we give a concrete definition of Sudakov safety based on conditional probability distributions, and we study a one-parameter family of momentum sharing observables that interpolate between the safe and unsafe regimes. The boundary between these regimes is particularly interesting, as the resulting distribution can be understood as the ultraviolet fixed point of a generalized fragmentation function, yielding a leading behavior that is independent of $α_s$.

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arXiv2015

Soft evolution of multi-jet final states

We present a new framework for computing resummed and matched distributions in processes with many hard QCD jets. The intricate color structure of soft gluon emission at large angles renders resummed calculations highly non-trivial in this case. We automate all ingredients necessary for the color evolution of the soft function at next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy, namely the selection of the color bases and the projections of color operators and Born amplitudes onto those bases. Explicit results for all QCD processes with up to $2\to 5$ partons are given. We also devise a new tree-level matching scheme for resummed calculations which exploits a quasi-local subtraction based on the Catani-Seymour dipole formalism. We implement both resummation and matching in the Sherpa event generator. As a proof of concept, we compute the resummed and matched transverse-thrust distribution for hadronic collisions.

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arXiv2014

Boosted Top Quark Pair Production in Soft Collinear Effective Theory

We review a Soft Collinear Effective Theory approach to the study of factorization and resummation of QCD effects in top-quark pair production. In particular, we consider differential cross sections such as the top-quark pair invariant mass distribution and the top-quark transverse momentum and rapidity distributions. Furthermore, we focus our attention on the large invariant mass and large transverse momentum kinematic regions, characteristic of boosted top quarks. We discuss the factorization of the differential cross section in the double soft gluon emission and small top-quark mass limit, both in Pair Invariant Mass (PIM) and One Particle Inclusive (1PI) kinematics. The factorization formulas can be employed in order to implement the simultaneous resummation of soft emission and small mass effects up to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. The results are also used to construct improved next-to-next-to-leading order approximations for the differential cross sections.

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arXiv2014

Resummed Higgs cross section at N$^3$LL

We present accurate predictions for the inclusive production of a Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions, via gluon-gluon fusion. Our calculation includes next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) corrections in perturbative QCD, as well as the resummation of threshold-enhanced contributions to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (N$^3$LL) accuracy, with the inclusion of the recently-determined three-loop constant coefficient (sometimes referred to as N$^3$LL' accuracy). Our result correctly accounts for finite top, bottom and charm masses at leading order (LO) and next-to-leading order (NLO), and includes top mass dependence at NNLO. At the resummed level the dependence on top, bottom and charm mass is accounted for at NLL, while only the top mass at NNLL. The all-order calculation is improved by a suitable choice of the soft terms, dictated by analyticity conditions and by the inclusion of subleading corrections of collinear origin, which improve the accuracy of the resummation away from the threshold region. We present results for different collider energies and we study perturbative uncertainties by varying renormalization and factorization scales. We find that, at current LHC energies, the resummation corrects the NNLO result by as much as 20 % at $μ_R=μ_F=m_H$, while the correction is much smaller, 5.5 %, at $μ_R=μ_F=m_H /\,2$. While the central value of NNLO+N$^3$LL result depends very mildly on the scale choice, we argue that a more reliable estimate of the theoretical uncertainty is found if the perturbative scales are canonically varied about $m_H$.

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arXiv2014

Higgs production in gluon fusion beyond NNLO

We construct an approximate expression for the cross section for Higgs production in gluon fusion at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N$^3$LO) in $α_s$ with finite top mass. We argue that an accurate approximation can be constructed by exploiting the analiticity of the Mellin space cross section, and the information on its singularity structure coming from large N (soft gluon, Sudakov) and small N (high energy, BFKL) all order resummations. We support our argument with an explicit comparison of the approximate and the exact expressions up to the highest (NNLO) order at which the latter are available. We find that the approximate N$^3$LO result amounts to a correction of 16% to the NNLO QCD cross section for production of a 125 GeV Higgs at the LHC (8 TeV), larger than previously estimated, and it significantly reduces the scale dependence of the NNLO result.

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arXiv2014

Updated Higgs cross section at approximate N$^3$LO

We update our estimate of the cross section for Higgs production in gluon fusion at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N$^3$LO) in $α_s$ in view of the recent full computation of the result in the soft limit for infinite top mass, which determines a previously unknown constant. We briefly discuss the phenomenological implications. Results are available through the updated version of the ggHiggs code.

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arXiv2014

Soft Drop

We introduce a new jet substructure technique called "soft drop declustering", which recursively removes soft wide-angle radiation from a jet. The soft drop algorithm depends on two parameters--a soft threshold $z_\text{cut}$ and an angular exponent $β$--with the $β= 0$ limit corresponding roughly to the (modified) mass drop procedure. To gain an analytic understanding of soft drop and highlight the $β$ dependence, we perform resummed calculations for three observables on soft-dropped jets: the energy correlation functions, the groomed jet radius, and the energy loss due to soft drop. The $β= 0$ limit of the energy loss is particularly interesting, since it is not only "Sudakov safe" but also largely insensitive to the value of the strong coupling constant. While our calculations are strictly accurate only to modified leading-logarithmic order, we also include a discussion of higher-order effects such as multiple emissions and (the absence of) non-global logarithms. We compare our analytic results to parton shower simulations and find good agreement, and we also estimate the impact of non-perturbative effects such as hadronization and the underlying event. Finally, we demonstrate how soft drop can be used for tagging boosted W bosons, and we speculate on the potential advantages of using soft drop for pileup mitigation.

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arXiv2013

Boosted top production: factorization and resummation for single-particle inclusive distributions

We study single-particle inclusive (1PI) distributions in top-quark pair production at hadron colliders, working in the highly boosted regime where the top-quark p_T is much larger than its mass. In particular, we derive a novel factorization formula valid in the small-mass and soft limits of the differential partonic cross section. This provides a framework for the simultaneous resummation of soft gluon corrections and small-mass logarithms, and also an efficient means of obtaining higher-order corrections to the differential cross section in this limit. The result involves five distinct one-scale functions, three of which arise through the subfactorization of soft real radiation in the small-mass limit. We list the NNLO corrections to each of these functions, building on results in the literature by performing a new calculation of a soft function involving four light-like Wilson lines to this order. We thus obtain a nearly complete description of the small-mass limit of the differential partonic cross section at NNLO near threshold, missing only terms involving closed top-quark loops in the virtual corrections.

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arXiv2013

QCD calculations for jet substructure

We present results on novel analytic calculations to describe invariant mass distributions of QCD jets with three substructure algorithms: trimming, pruning and the mass-drop taggers. These results not only lead to considerable insight into the behaviour of these tools, but also show how they can be improved. As an example, we discuss the remarkable properties of the modified mass-drop tagger.

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