arXiv subjects

Stefan Dittmaier

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Dittmaier.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

NLO QCD corrections to off-shell top-antitop production with leptonic decays at hadron colliders

We present details of a calculation of the cross section for hadronic top-antitop production in next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD, including the decays of the top and antitop into bottom quarks and leptons. This calculation is based on matrix elements for νe e+ μ- \barν_μb\bar{b} production and includes all non-resonant diagrams, interferences, and off-shell effects of the top quarks. Such contributions are formally suppressed by the top-quark width and turn out to be small in the inclusive cross section. However, they can be strongly enhanced in exclusive observables that play an important role in Higgs and new-physics searches. Also non-resonant and off-shell effects due to the finite W-boson width are investigated in detail, but their impact is much smaller than naively expected. We also introduce a matching approach to improve NLO calculations involving intermediate unstable particles. Using a fixed QCD scale leads to perturbative instabilities in the high-energy tails of distributions, but an appropriate dynamical scale stabilises NLO predictions. Numerical results for the total cross section, several distributions, and asymmetries are presented for Tevatron and the LHC at 7 TeV, 8 TeV, and 14 TeV.

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arXiv2012

Weak radiative corrections to dijet production at hadron colliders

We present the calculation of the most important electroweak corrections to dijet production at the LHC and the Tevatron, comprising tree-level effects of O(α_sα,α^2) and weak loop corrections of O(α_s^2α). Although negligible for integrated cross sections, these corrections can reach 10-20% in the TeV range for transverse jet momenta k_T. Our detailed discussion of numerical results comprises distributions in the dijet invariant mass and in the transverse momenta of the leading and subleading jets. We find that the weak loop corrections amount to about -12% and -10% for leading jets with k_T~3TeV at the 14TeV LHC and k_T~800GeV at the Tevatron, respectively. The electroweak tree-level contributions are of the same generic size and typically positive at the LHC and negative at the Tevatron at high energy scales. Generally the corrections to the dijet invariant mass distributions are smaller by at least a factor of two as compared to the corresponding reach in the k_T distributions, because unlike the k_T spectra the invariant-mass distributions are not dominated by the Sudakov regime at high energy scales.

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arXiv2012

NLO QCD corrections to off-shell ttbar production at hadron colliders

The production of top-antitop-quark pairs at hadron colliders is interesting both in its own right as signal process, but also as background to many searches for new physics. The corresponding predictions aim at the precision level of few per cent, rendering not only the inclusion of radiative corrections of the strong and electroweak interactions relevant, but also of off-shell and finite-width effects originating from the top-quark decays t -> b W -> b l ν_l / qq'. We report on a calculation for the full process pp -> W^+ W^- b \bar{b} -> ν_e e^+ μ^- ν_μb \bar{b} at next-to-leading order QCD and discuss the effects of the finite widths of the top quarks and of the W bosons for selected observables. Generically it turns out that finite-top-width effects are at the per-cent level whenever the top-quark resonances dominate, but those effects can reach tens of per cent in off-shell tails. Finite-W-width effects, on the other hand, are suppressed to less than 0.5% whenever the top quarks can become resonant and only become sizeable in exceptional cases. One such case, however, is the invariant mass of a bottom quark and the corresponding charged lepton, which result from the same top-quark decay - an observable that is relevant for precision measurements of the top-quark mass.

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arXiv2011

EW corrections to Higgs strahlung at the Tevatron and the LHC with HAWK

We briefly report on the inclusion of NLO QCD and electroweak corrections to the Higgs-strahlung processes pp/ppbar -> HW/Z -> H+2leptons in the Monte Carlo program HAWK. The electroweak corrections, which are at the level of -(5-10)% for total cross sections, further increase in size with increasing transverse momenta (p_T) in differential cross sections. For instance, for p_{T,H}>200GeV, which is the interesting range at the LHC, the electroweak corrections to WH production reach about -15% for M_H=120GeV.

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arXiv2011

Electroweak corrections to dilepton + jet production at hadron colliders

The first calculation of the next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to Z-boson + jet hadroproduction including leptonic Z-boson decays is presented, i.e. to the production of a charged lepton--anti-lepton final state in association with one hard jet at the LHC and the Tevatron. The Z-boson resonance is treated consistently using the complex-mass scheme, and all off-shell effects as well as the contributions of the intermediate photon are taken into account. The corresponding next-to-leading-order QCD corrections have also been recalculated. The full calculation is implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo code. Numerical results for cross sections and distributions of this Standard Model benchmark process are presented for the Tevatron and the LHC.

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arXiv2010

Production of t anti-t b anti-b at the LHC at NLO QCD

We summarise predictions for top anti-top bottom anti-bottom (tTbB) production at the LHC in next-to-leading order QCD. The precise description of this background process is a prerequisite to observe associated top anti-top Higgs production in the H -> bottom anti-bottom decay channel. The one-loop amplitudes are computed using Feynman diagrams and numerical tensor reduction. This approach provides very high numerical stability and CPU efficiency. We find that the scale choice adopted in ATLAS simulations underestimates the tTbB background by a factor two and introduce a new dynamical scale that stabilises the perturbative predictions. In the regime of highly boosted Higgs bosons, which offers better perspectives to observe the tTH(H-> bB) signal, the corrections induce significant distortions in the kinematic distributions.

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arXiv2010

Electroweak corrections to hadronic event shapes and jet production in e+e- annihilation

We present a complete calculation of the electroweak O(alpha^3 alpha_s) corrections to three-jet production and related event-shape observables at electron--positron colliders. The Z-boson resonance is described within the complex-mass scheme, rendering the calculation valid both in the resonance and off-shell regions. Higher-order initial-state radiation is included in the leading-logarithmic approximation. We properly account for the corrections to the total hadronic cross section and for the experimental photon isolation criteria. To this end we implement contributions of the quark-to-photon fragmentation function both in the slicing and subtraction formalism. The effects of the electroweak corrections on various event-shape distributions and on the three-jet rate are studied. They are typically at the few-per-cent level, and remnants of the radiative return are found even after inclusion of appropriate cuts.

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arXiv2010

NLO QCD corrections to top anti-top bottom anti-bottom production at the LHC

The next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections to top anti-top bottom anti-bottom (tTbB) production at the LHC reveal that the scale choice adopted in previous lowest-order simulations underestimates the tTbB cross section by a factor two. We discuss a new dynamical scale that stabilizes the perturbative predictions and describe the impact of the corrections on the shape of distributions. We also account for the techniques employed to compute the six-particle one-loop amplitudes with high CPU efficiency.

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arXiv2010

Electroweak corrections to hadronic event shapes

We report on a recent calculation of the electroweak O(α^3α_s) corrections to 3-jet production and related event-shape observables at e+e- colliders. The calculation properly accounts for the experimental photon isolation criteria and for the corrections to the total hadronic cross section. Corrections to the normalised event-shape distributions, which are exemplarily discussed here for the thrust distribution at LEP and linear-collider energies, turn out to be at the few-per-cent level and show remnants of the radiative return to the Z pole even after inclusion of appropriate cuts.

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arXiv2010

NLO QCD corrections to top anti-top bottom anti-bottom production at the LHC: 2. full hadronic results

We present predictions for top anti-top bottom anti-bottom production at the LHC in next-to-leading order QCD. The precise description of this background process is a prerequisite to observe associated top anti-top Higgs production in the Higgs -> bottom anti-bottom decay channel and to directly measure the top-quark Yukawa coupling at the LHC. The leading-order cross section is extremely sensitive to scale variations. We observe that the traditional scale choice adopted in ATLAS simulations underestimates the top anti-top bottom anti-bottom background by a factor two and introduce a new dynamical scale that stabilizes the perturbative predictions. We study various kinematic distributions and observe that the corrections have little impact on their shapes if standard cuts are applied. In the regime of highly boosted Higgs bosons, which offers better perspectives to observe the top anti-top Higgs signal, we find significant distortions of the kinematic distributions. The one-loop amplitudes are computed using process-independent algebraic manipulations of Feynman diagrams and numerical tensor reduction. We find that this approach provides very high numerical stability and CPU efficiency.

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arXiv2010

NLO QCD corrections to WW+jet production including leptonic W decays at hadron colliders

We report on the calculation of the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the production of W-boson pairs in association with a hard jet at the Tevatron and the LHC, which is an important source of background for Higgs and new-physics searches. Leptonic decays of the W bosons are included by applying an improved version of the narrow-width approximation that treats the W bosons as on-shell particles, but keeps the information on the W spin. A selection of differential NLO QCD cross sections is provided both for the LHC and the Tevatron. The QCD corrections stabilize the LO prediction for the cross section with respect to scale variations. The differential LO cross sections are generally not simply rescaled by the corrections. Their shapes are particularly distorted if an additional energy scale is involved.

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arXiv2010

Electroweak precision for W+jet production

In this talk we discuss the next-to-leading-order electroweak (EW) corrections to W-boson + jet hadroproduction [1] and compare the full result to a simple approximation assuming factorization of EW and QCD corrections for the charged-current Drell-Yan process. The W-boson resonance is treated consistently using the complex-mass scheme, and all off-shell effects are taken into account. The corresponding next-to-leading-order QCD corrections have also been recalculated. All the results are implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo code. Selected numerical results for this Standard Model benchmark process are presented for the LHC. The comparison of our result to an approximation based on the EW corrections to W-boson production without additional jets is a step towards a better understanding of the interplay between QCD and EW effects for W-boson production in general.

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arXiv2010

Radiative corrections to the neutral-current Drell-Yan process in the Standard Model and its minimal supersymmetric extension

An adequate description of the neutral-current Drell-Yan process at the Tevatron and the LHC, in particular, requires the inclusion of electroweak radiative corrections. We extend earlier work in this direction in various ways. First, we define and numerically compare different methods to describe the Z-boson resonance including next-to-leading order electroweak corrections; moreover, we provide explicit analytical expressions for those. Second, we pay particular attention to contributions from photon-photon and photon-quark collisions, which involve photons in the initial state, and work out how their impact can be enhanced by selection cuts. Third, we supplement the O(α) corrections by universal electroweak effects of higher order, such as universal two-loop contributions from Δαand Δρ, and the leading two-loop corrections in the high-energy Sudakov regime as well as multi-photon radiation off muons in the structure-function approach. Finally, we present results on the complete next-to-leading order electroweak and QCD corrections within the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model.

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arXiv2009

Electroweak corrections to W + jet hadroproduction including leptonic W-boson decays

This talk summarizes the first calculation of the next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to W-boson + jet hadroproduction including leptonic W-boson decays [1]. The W-boson resonance is treated consistently using the complex-mass scheme, and all off-shell effects are taken into account. The corresponding next-to-leading-order QCD corrections have also been recalculated. All the results are implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo code. Selected numerical results for this Standard Model benchmark process are presented for the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Electroweak corrections to W + jet hadroproduction including leptonic W-boson decays

We present the first calculation of the next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to W-boson + jet hadroproduction including leptonic W-boson decays. The W-boson resonance is treated consistently using the complex-mass scheme, and all off-shell effects are taken into account. The corresponding next-to-leading-order QCD corrections have also been recalculated. All the results are implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo code. Numerical results for cross sections and distributions of this Standard Model benchmark process are presented for the Tevatron and the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Electroweak corrections to three-jet production in electron-positron annihilation

We compute the electroweak ${\cal O}(α^3α_s)$ corrections to three-jet production and related event-shape observables at electron-positron colliders. We properly account for the experimental photon isolation criteria and for the corrections to the total hadronic cross section. Corrections to the three-jet rate and to normalised event-shape distributions turn out to be at the few-per-cent level.

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arXiv2009

Charged-Higgs-boson production at the LHC: NLO supersymmetric QCD corrections

The dominant production process for heavy charged Higgs bosons at the LHC is the associated production with heavy quarks. We have calculated the next-to-leading-order supersymmetric QCD corrections to charged-Higgs production through the parton processes $q\bar{q},gg \to tbH^{\pm}$ and present results for total cross sections and differential distributions. The QCD corrections reduce the renormalization and factorization scale dependence and thus stabilize the theoretical predictions. We present a comparison of the next-to-leading-order results for the inclusive cross section with a calculation based on bottom--gluon fusion $gb \to tH^{\pm}$ and discuss the impact of the next-to-leading-order corrections on charged-Higgs searches at the LHC.

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arXiv2008

NLO QCD corrections to pp -> ttbb+X via quark anti-quark annihilation

The process pp -> top anti-top bottom anti-bottom + X represents a very important background reaction to searches at the LHC, in particular to top anti-top H production where the Higgs boson decays into a bottom anti-bottom pair. A successful analysis of top anti-top H at the LHC requires the knowledge of direct top anti-top bottom anti-bottom production at NLO in QCD. We take the first step in this direction upon calculating the NLO QCD corrections to the subprocess initiated by quark anti-quark annihilation.

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