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NLO QCD corrections to the production of two bottom-antibottom pairs at the LHC

Nicolas Greiner, Alberto Guffanti, Thomas Reiter, Jürgen Reuter

TL;DR

The paper tackles the precision prediction of the Standard Model background for multi-bottom final states by computing the full NLO QCD corrections to pp -> b bbar b bbar at the LHC, including gluon-initiated contributions. It employs an automated, diagrammatic framework (golem-2.0 for virtual corrections with Samurai/OneLoop, MadDipole for real emission subtraction, and MadEvent for phase-space integration) to obtain stable, IR-finite results. The results show a roughly 50% increase in the cross section at the central scale and a substantial reduction in renormalization/factorization scale uncertainties, with notable reshaping of differential distributions that cannot be captured by a simple K-factor. This improved precision strengthens the reliability of using the b bbar b bbar channel as Standard Model background in Higgs-sector searches and in new-physics scenarios, and demonstrates a robust computational pipeline for complex multi-jet processes.

Abstract

We report the results of a computation of the full next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the production of two $b\bar{b}$ pairs at the LHC. This calculation at the parton level provides predictions for well separated $b$-jets. The results show that the next-to-leading order corrections lead to an enhancement of the cross-section for the central scale choice by roughly 50% with respect to the leading order result. The theoretical uncertainty estimated by variation of the renormalization and factorization scales is strongly reduced by the inclusion of next-to-leading order corrections.

NLO QCD corrections to the production of two bottom-antibottom pairs at the LHC

TL;DR

The paper tackles the precision prediction of the Standard Model background for multi-bottom final states by computing the full NLO QCD corrections to pp -> b bbar b bbar at the LHC, including gluon-initiated contributions. It employs an automated, diagrammatic framework (golem-2.0 for virtual corrections with Samurai/OneLoop, MadDipole for real emission subtraction, and MadEvent for phase-space integration) to obtain stable, IR-finite results. The results show a roughly 50% increase in the cross section at the central scale and a substantial reduction in renormalization/factorization scale uncertainties, with notable reshaping of differential distributions that cannot be captured by a simple K-factor. This improved precision strengthens the reliability of using the b bbar b bbar channel as Standard Model background in Higgs-sector searches and in new-physics scenarios, and demonstrates a robust computational pipeline for complex multi-jet processes.

Abstract

We report the results of a computation of the full next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the production of two pairs at the LHC. This calculation at the parton level provides predictions for well separated -jets. The results show that the next-to-leading order corrections lead to an enhancement of the cross-section for the central scale choice by roughly 50% with respect to the leading order result. The theoretical uncertainty estimated by variation of the renormalization and factorization scales is strongly reduced by the inclusion of next-to-leading order corrections.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 4 sections, 2 equations, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Method
  3. Results
  4. Conclusions

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Total cross section as a function of the scale $\mu=\mu_r=\mu_F=x\cdot \mu_0$. Renormalization and factorization scale are varied in the same direction.
  • Figure 2: Invariant mass distribution of the two $b$-jets with the highest $p_T$. The black shaded area denotes the tree level contribution, the red area denotes the NLO cross-section. The error bands for both histograms are determined by a scale variation between $\mu_0/2$ and $2\mu_0$.
  • Figure 3: $p_T$ distribution of the hardest jet. The error bands are defined as in Figure \ref{['mb1b2']}.