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Strong radiative corrections to W b bbar production in p pbar collisions

R. K. Ellis, S. Veseli

TL;DR

This study computes next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the background process $p\bar{p}\to W(\to e\nu)\,g^*(\to b\bar{b})$, the dominant background to $p\bar{p}\to W(\to e\nu) H(\to b\bar{b})$ Higgs production at the Tevatron. Using Catani–Seymour subtraction within a massless $b$-quark framework and MS-bar renormalization, the authors combine real emission and virtual corrections to obtain finite NLO predictions for both signal and background under realistic cuts. They find substantial, positive NLO corrections (K-factors around 1.2 for the signal and 1.5 for the background) and illustrate how these corrections affect the Higgs search sensitivity via the $W b\bar{b}$ final state, providing key input for background modeling. The work lays groundwork for extending NLO treatments to $W$+2 jet processes and other two-boson final states relevant to collider Higgs searches.

Abstract

We calculate the strong radiative corrections to the process p pbar -> W(->e nu) g^*(->b bbar). At the Tevatron this process is the largest background to the associated Higgs boson production p pbar -> W(-> e nu) H(-> b bbar). The calculation is based on the subtraction procedure, and the corrections are found to be significant.

Strong radiative corrections to W b bbar production in p pbar collisions

TL;DR

This study computes next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the background process , the dominant background to Higgs production at the Tevatron. Using Catani–Seymour subtraction within a massless -quark framework and MS-bar renormalization, the authors combine real emission and virtual corrections to obtain finite NLO predictions for both signal and background under realistic cuts. They find substantial, positive NLO corrections (K-factors around 1.2 for the signal and 1.5 for the background) and illustrate how these corrections affect the Higgs search sensitivity via the final state, providing key input for background modeling. The work lays groundwork for extending NLO treatments to +2 jet processes and other two-boson final states relevant to collider Higgs searches.

Abstract

We calculate the strong radiative corrections to the process p pbar -> W(->e nu) g^*(->b bbar). At the Tevatron this process is the largest background to the associated Higgs boson production p pbar -> W(-> e nu) H(-> b bbar). The calculation is based on the subtraction procedure, and the corrections are found to be significant.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 4 sections, 6 equations, 4 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Calculation method
  3. Results
  4. Conclusions

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Cross section scale dependence for the signal (lower curves) and $Wb\bar{b}$ background (upper curves). These results were obtained for $84<M_{b\bar{b}}<117{\;\rm GeV}$ ($M_H=100{\;\rm GeV})$. Apart from (\ref{['hard_process_cuts']}), no other cuts have been applied.
  • Figure 2: The LO and NLO $M_{b \bar{b}}$ dependence of the $Wb\bar{b}$ background process at a scale of $\mu = 25{\;\rm GeV}$. The results shown were obtained after imposing cuts given in (\ref{['cuts1']})-(\ref{['cuts3']}).
  • Figure 3: Cross section scale dependence for the signal (lower curves) and $Wb\bar{b}$ background (upper curves). These results were obtained for $84<M_{b\bar{b}}<117{\;\rm GeV}$ ($M_H=100{\;\rm GeV}$), and after imposing cuts given in (\ref{['cuts1']})-(\ref{['cuts3']}).
  • Figure 4: Cross section scale dependence for the signal (lower curves) and $Wb\bar{b}$ background (upper curves). These results were obtained for $102<M_{b\bar{b}}<141{\;\rm GeV}$ ($M_H=120{\;\rm GeV}$), and after imposing cuts given in (\ref{['cuts1']})-(\ref{['cuts3']}).