QCD radiation effects on the H->WW->l nu l nu signal at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper evaluates how QCD radiation influences the detection of the Higgs boson decaying to WW at the LHC, comparing different theoretical predictions and simulation tools to optimize experimental cuts.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of NNLO QCD, NNLL resummation, and MC@NLO predictions for Higgs signal efficiency under specific selection criteria.

Findings

QCD effects significantly impact the Higgs signal cross-section.

Different theoretical approaches yield consistent results within uncertainties.

Jet algorithms and non-perturbative effects alter the signal efficiency.

Abstract

The discovery of a Standard Model Higgs boson is possible when experimental cuts are applied which increase the ratio of signal and background cross-sections. In this paper we study the pp->H->WW signal cross-section at the LHC which requires a selection of Higgs bosons with small transverse momentum. We compare predictions for the efficiency of the experimental cuts from a NNLO QCD calculation, a calculation of the resummation of logarithms in the transverse momentum of the Higgs boson at NNLL, and the event generator MC@NLO. We also investigate the impact of various jet-algorithms, the underlying event and hadronization on the signal cross-section.