6533b829fe1ef96bd128988e
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Strange quark parton distribution functions and implications for Drell-Yan boson production at the LHC
Tomáš JežoJi-young YuJi-young YuK. ParkT. StavrevaA. KusinaI. SchienbeinF. I. OlnessK. KovaříkS. Bergesubject
QuarkQuantum chromodynamicsPhysicsNuclear and High Energy PhysicsParticle physicsGauge bosonStrange quarkLarge Hadron Collider010308 nuclear & particles physicsHigh Energy Physics::LatticeNuclear TheoryHigh Energy Physics::PhenomenologyDown quarkDrell–Yan processParton01 natural sciencesNuclear physics[PHYS.HPHE]Physics [physics]/High Energy Physics - Phenomenology [hep-ph]0103 physical sciencesHigh Energy Physics::ExperimentNuclear Experiment010306 general physicsdescription
Global analyses of parton distribution functions (PDFs) have provided incisive constraints on the up and down quark components of the proton, but constraining the other flavor degrees of freedom is more challenging. Higher-order theory predictions and new data sets have contributed to recent improvements. Despite these efforts, the strange quark parton distribution function has a sizable uncertainty, particularly in the small $x$ region. We examine the constraints from experiment and theory, and investigate the impact of this uncertainty on LHC observables. In particular, we study $W/Z$ production to see how the $s$ quark uncertainty propagates to these observables, and examine the extent to which precise measurements at the LHC can provide additional information on the proton flavor structure.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-05-24 |