Higgs production via vector-boson fusion at the LHC

TL;DR

The paper provides a comprehensive, high-precision treatment of Higgs production via vector-boson fusion (VBF) at the LHC, focusing on 13.6 TeV. It compiles state-of-the-art fixed-order predictions (NNLO QCD, NLO EW) and NLO+PS results for both VBF-approximated and full EW $Hjj$ production, including irreducible backgrounds and loop-induced contributions, across STXS and fiducial phase spaces. A central contribution is the explicit framework for estimating parton-shower uncertainties via an envelope across multiple NLO+PS generators and scale/shower variations, along with detailed guidance on when and how to apply VBF versus full EW topologies. The study provides extensive public data and code resources to enable benchmarks and cross-checks for experimental analyses, strengthening the use of VBF in precision Higgs coupling studies and beyond-Standard-Model probes. Overall, it advances the reliability and interpretability of VBF predictions in LHC Run III analyses and future High-Luminosity LHC measurements.

Abstract

In this article, we summarise the recent experimental measurements and theoretical work on Higgs boson production via vector-boson fusion at the LHC. Along with this, we provide state-of-the-art predictions at fixed order as well as with parton-shower corrections within the Standard Model at 13.6 TeV. The results are presented in the form of multi-differential distributions as well as in the Simplified Template Cross Section bins. All materials and outputs of this study are available on public repositories. Finally, following findings in the literature, recommendations are made to estimate theoretical uncertainties related to parton-shower corrections.

Figures (13)

• Figure 1: Examples of tree-level diagrams contributing to $\text{p}\xspace\text{p}\xspace\to\text{H}\xspace\text{j}\xspace\text{j}\xspace$: VBF (left) and VH (right) topologies.
• Figure 2: Graphical representation of higher-order contributions computed in the present work. See text for description.
• Figure 3: Examples of non-factorisable corrections (left) and loop-induced contributions (right).
• Figure 4: Differential distribution in the invariant mass of the two tagging jets for $\text{p}\xspace\text{p}\xspace\to\text{H}\xspace\text{j}\xspace\text{j}\xspace$ at $13.6\,\text{TeV}\xspace$ within the STXS setup Eqs. \ref{['eq:jet']}--\ref{['eq:h-stxs']}. See main text for more details. The bands represent the 7-point scale variations.
• Figure 5: Multi-dimensional STXS bins for $\text{p}\xspace\text{p}\xspace\to\text{H}\xspace\text{j}\xspace\text{j}\xspace$ at $13.6\,\text{TeV}\xspace$. See main text for more details.