Search

We present for the first time the exact NLO QCD corrections to the light-quark part of the mixed QCD-EW contributions to Higgs production via gluon fusion at LHC13, with exact EW-boson mass dependence. The relevant two-loop real-emission matrix element is computed using a dynamic one-dimensional series expansion strategy whose stability and speed allows for a numerical phase-space integration using local IR subtraction counterterms. For $\mu_R=\mu_F=M_H$, we find: \begin{equation}\sigma^{(\alpha_s^2\alpha^2+\alpha_s^3\alpha^2)}_{g g\rightarrow H+X} = 1.467(2)^{\;+18.7\%}_{\;-14.6\%}\;(\mu_R\;\text{var.})\;\pm 2\%\;(\text{PDF}) \ \textrm{pb},\end{equation} which we use to provide the best result including an estimate of suppressed contributions: \begin{equation}\sigma^{(\text{EW},\textrm{best})}_{p p\rightarrow H+X} = 2.11 \pm 0.28 \ (\textrm{theory}) \ \mathrm{pb}.\end{equation}, Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

We present predictions for the total cross section for the production of a charged Higgs boson in the intermediate-mass range ( mH±∼mt ) at the LHC, focusing on a type-II two-Higgs-doublet model. Results are obtained at next-to-leading order (NLO) accuracy in QCD perturbation theory, by studying the full process pp→H±W∓bb¯ in the complex-(top)-mass scheme with massive bottom quarks. Compared to lowest-order predictions, NLO corrections have a sizeable impact: they increase the cross section by roughly 50% and reduce uncertainties due to scale variations by more than a factor of two. Our computation reliably interpolates between the low- and high-mass regime. Our results provide the first NLO prediction for charged Higgs production in the intermediate-mass range and therefore allow to have NLO accurate predictions in the full mH± range. The extension of our results to different realisations of the two-Higgs-doublet model or to the supersymmetric case is also discussed.

This note summarizes the state-of-the-art predictions for the cross sections expected for Higgs boson production in the 27 TeV proton-proton collisions of a high-energy LHC, including a full theoretical uncertainty analysis. It also provides projections for the progress that may be expected on the timescale of the high-luminosity LHC and an assessment of the main limiting factors to further reduction of the remaining theoretical uncertainties.

We present the key features relevant to the automated computation of all the leading- and next-to-leading order contributions to short-distance cross sections in a mixed-coupling expansion, with special emphasis on the first subleading NLO term in the QCD+EW scenario, commonly referred to as NLO EW corrections. We discuss, in particular, the FKS subtraction in the context of a mixed-coupling expansion; the extension of the FKS subtraction to processes that include final-state tagged particles, defined by means of fragmentation functions; and some properties of the complex mass scheme. We combine the present paper with the release of a new version of MadGraph5_aMC@NLO, capable of dealing with mixed-coupling expansions. We use the code to obtain illustrative inclusive and differential results for the 13-TeV LHC., Journal of High Energy Physics, 2018 (7), ISSN:1126-6708, ISSN:1029-8479

We obtain predictions accurate at the next-to-leading order in QCD for the production of a generic spin-two particle in the most relevant channels at the LHC: production in association with coloured particles (inclusive, one jet, two jets and tt¯), with vector bosons (Z, W± , γ) and with the Higgs boson. We present total and differential cross sections as well as branching ratios as a function of the mass and the collision energy also considering the case of nonuniversal couplings to standard model particles. We find that the next-to-leading order corrections give rise to sizeable K factors for many channels, in some cases exposing the unitarity-violating behaviour of non-universal couplings scenarios, and in general greatly reduce the theoretical uncertainties. Our predictions are publicly available in the MADGRAPH5 aMC@NLO framework and can, therefore, be directly used in experimental simulations of spin-two particle production for arbitrary values of the mass and coupling

We present an interface between the multipurpose Monte Carlo tool MadGraph5_aMC@NLO and the automated amplitude generator GoSam . As a first application of this novel framework, we compute the NLO corrections to pp→ tt¯H and pp→ tt¯γγ matched to a parton shower. In the phenomenological analyses of these processes, we focus our attention on observables which are sensitive to the polarisation of the top quarks.

This thesis presents the automation of loop computations for the calculation of Next-to-Leading Order contributions to theoretical predictions for particle colliders. We start with the general techniques for performing such predictions and how they can be expressed as perturbative expansions in the coupling constants controlling the strength of particle interactions. This leads to the discussion of the subtleties arising when considering higher order corrections, in particular the methods employed for isolating and canceling the infrared divergences occurring at intermediate steps of the computation. We then introduce the Passarino-Veltman and Ossola-Papadopolous-Pittau loop reduction algorithms. The latter is used by the computer code MadLoop that we wrote specifically for the automation of loop computations. The main part of the thesis focuses on the description of this program, starting with its original loop diagram generation algorithm and how it is embedded within the MadGraph5 environment. An initiation to the usage of the code is given, followed by a discussion of its optimizations where particular attention is paid to the implementation of the open-loop technique. Great details about the validation of MadLoop results against those of other codes are given in appendix B for specific kinematic configurations. We also list in the main text the total rates obtained for various processes. Quantitative information on the runtime speed and numerical stability performances are presented for many processes, each representative of a certain class of complexity. This serves as a comparison benchmark, and shows that realistic studies can be performed for any 2 → 3 and most 2 → 4 processes in the Standard Model. We finish by providing two examples of phenomenology study at the Large Hadron Collider using the tools we developed. The first treats the production of a scalar or pseudo-scalar in association with a top quark pair while the second addresses the tri-boson production channel Z W+ W− with MadSpin simulating the subsequent decay to leptons. We conclude with some insights on MadLoop prospects.

We use aMC@NLO to predict the lv+ 2-jet cross section at the NLO accuracy in QCD matched to parton shower simulations. We find that the perturbative expansion is well behaved for all the observables we study, and in particular for those relevant to the experimental analyses. We therefore conclude that NLO corrections to this process cannot be responsible for the excess of events in the dijet invariant mass observed by the CDF collaboration., 14 pages, 3 figures

We present a study of l\nu b\bar{b} and l+ l- b\bar{b} production at hadron colliders. Our results, accurate to the next-to-leading order in QCD, are based on automatic matrix-element calculations performed by MadLoop and MadFKS, and are given at both the parton level, and after the matching with the Herwig event generator, achieved with aMC@NLO. We retain the complete dependence on the bottom-quark mass, and include exactly all spin correlations of final-state leptons. We discuss the cases of several observables at the LHC which highlight the importance of accurate simulations., Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures. References updated, minor changes to the text