Three- and Four-jet Production at Low x at HERA

TL;DR

This study measures three- and four-jet production in deep-inelastic scattering at low x at HERA, comparing results to QCD predictions and Monte Carlo models, revealing insights into parton dynamics and initial state radiation effects.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparison of multi-jet production at low x with fixed order QCD and Monte Carlo models, highlighting the importance of higher order effects.

Findings

${ m O}( ext{alpha}_s^3)$ calculations describe data well

Underprediction of events at lowest x, especially with forward jets

Colour dipole model Monte Carlo matches data in shape and normalization

Abstract

Three- and four-jet production is measured in deep-inelastic $ep$ scattering at low $x$ and $Q^2$ with the H1 detector using an integrated luminosity of $44{.}2 {\rm pb}^{-1}$. Several phase space regions are selected for the three-jet analysis in order to study the underlying parton dynamics from global topologies to the more restrictive regions of forward jets close to the proton direction. The measurements of cross sections for events with at least three jets are compared to fixed order QCD predictions of ${\mathcal{O}}(\alpha_{\rm s}^2)$ and ${\mathcal{O}}(\alpha_{\rm s}^3) $ and with Monte Carlo simulation programs where higher order effects are approximated by parton showers. A good overall description is provided by the ${\mathcal{O}}(\alpha_{\rm s}^3) $ calculation. Too few events are predicted at the lowest $x \sim 10^{-4}$, especially for topologies with two forward jets. This hints to large contributions at low $x$ from initial state radiation of gluons close to the proton direction and unordered in transverse momentum. The Monte Carlo program in which gluon radiation is generated by the colour dipole model gives a good description of both the three- and the four-jet data in absolute normalisation and shape.