6533b831fe1ef96bd1298d38
RESEARCH PRODUCT
W+W−Production at Hadron Colliders in Next to Next to Leading Order QCD
Dirk RathlevStefan KallweitLorenzo TancrediStefano PozzoriniMassimiliano GrazziniThomas GehrmannPhilipp MaierhöferA. Von Manteuffelsubject
Quantum chromodynamicsPhysicsGauge bosonParticle physicsLarge Hadron Collider010308 nuclear & particles physicsHigh Energy Physics::PhenomenologyHadronElectroweak interactionGeneral Physics and Astronomy7. Clean energy01 natural sciencesCross section (physics)Pair production0103 physical sciencesHigh Energy Physics::ExperimentPerturbation theory (quantum mechanics)010306 general physicsdescription
Charged gauge boson pair production at the Large Hadron Collider allows detailed probes of the fundamental structure of electroweak interactions. We present precise theoretical predictions for on-shell W+ W- production that include, for the first time, QCD effects up to next to next to leading order in perturbation theory. As compared to next to leading order, the inclusive W+ W- cross section is enhanced by 9% at 7 TeV and 12% at 14 TeV. The residual perturbative uncertainty is at the 3% level. The severe contamination of the W+ W- cross section due to top-quark resonances is discussed in detail. Comparing different definitions of top-free W+ W- production in the four and five flavor number schemes, we demonstrate that top-quark resonances can be separated from the inclusive W+ W- cross section without a significant loss of theoretical precision.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-11-18 | Physical Review Letters |