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Vector boson fusion at NNLO in QCD: SM Higgs and beyond

Paolo Bolzoni, Fabio Maltoni, Sven-Olaf Moch, Marco Zaro

TL;DR

The paper develops and validates a NNLO QCD calculation of vector boson fusion cross sections using a structure function approach, demonstrating that non-factorizable corrections and heavy-quark loop contributions are negligible and yield a residual theoretical uncertainty around 2%. It provides extensive SM predictions for H→VBF at Tevatron and LHC energies and extends the framework to beyond-SM scenarios, including anomalous VVH couplings, extended Higgs sectors, and fermiophobic vector resonances, with public VBF@NNLO tooling. The results underscore VBF as a precision channel for electroweak symmetry breaking and new physics searches, offering a universal, high-precision method for predicting cross sections for any color-neutral final state in VBF processes.

Abstract

Weak vector boson fusion provides a unique channel to directly probe the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking at hadron colliders. We present a method that allows to calculate total cross sections to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD for an arbitrary V* V* -> X process, the so-called structure function approach. By discussing the case of Higgs production in detail, we estimate several classes of previously neglected contributions and we argue that such method is accurate at a precision level well above the typical residual scale and PDF uncertainties at NNLO. Predictions for cross sections at the Tevatron and the LHC are presented for a variety of cases: the Standard Model Higgs (including anomalous couplings), neutral and charged scalars in extended Higgs sectors and (fermiophobic) vector resonance production. Further results can be easily obtained through the public use of the VBF@NNLO code.

Vector boson fusion at NNLO in QCD: SM Higgs and beyond

TL;DR

The paper develops and validates a NNLO QCD calculation of vector boson fusion cross sections using a structure function approach, demonstrating that non-factorizable corrections and heavy-quark loop contributions are negligible and yield a residual theoretical uncertainty around 2%. It provides extensive SM predictions for H→VBF at Tevatron and LHC energies and extends the framework to beyond-SM scenarios, including anomalous VVH couplings, extended Higgs sectors, and fermiophobic vector resonances, with public VBF@NNLO tooling. The results underscore VBF as a precision channel for electroweak symmetry breaking and new physics searches, offering a universal, high-precision method for predicting cross sections for any color-neutral final state in VBF processes.

Abstract

Weak vector boson fusion provides a unique channel to directly probe the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking at hadron colliders. We present a method that allows to calculate total cross sections to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD for an arbitrary V* V* -> X process, the so-called structure function approach. By discussing the case of Higgs production in detail, we estimate several classes of previously neglected contributions and we argue that such method is accurate at a precision level well above the typical residual scale and PDF uncertainties at NNLO. Predictions for cross sections at the Tevatron and the LHC are presented for a variety of cases: the Standard Model Higgs (including anomalous couplings), neutral and charged scalars in extended Higgs sectors and (fermiophobic) vector resonance production. Further results can be easily obtained through the public use of the VBF@NNLO code.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 23 sections, 54 equations, 25 figures, 22 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Setting the stage
  3. VBF at higher orders
  4. Structure function approach
  5. Non-factorizable contributions
  6. Contributions from heavy-quark loops
  7. Quark-gluon initiated contributions via the square of one-loop diagrams
  8. One-loop plus extra real parton diagrams
  9. Two-loop diagrams
  10. One-loop electroweak corrections
  11. VBF production in the Standard Model
  12. Cross section predictions for the Tevatron
  13. Cross section predictions for the LHC
  14. VBF production beyond the Standard Model
  15. Anomalous $VVH$ couplings
  16. ...and 8 more sections

Figures (25)

  • Figure 2.1: Higgs production via the VBF process.
  • Figure 3.1: Higgs production via the VBF process at LO in QCD.
  • Figure 3.2: Higgs production via the VBF process at NLO in QCD.
  • Figure 3.3: Examples of squared matrix elements contributing at NNLO to VBF involving a double gluon exchange between the two quark lines.
  • Figure 3.4: Color configurations associated to non-factorizable double-gluon exchange corrections to VBF at NNLO.
  • ...and 20 more figures