Z and W production associated with quark-antiquark pair in k_T-factorization at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper investigates Z and W boson production with quark-antiquark pairs at the LHC using k_T-factorization, comparing results with collinear approaches, and finds that k_T-factorization captures effects typically attributed to higher-order corrections.

Contribution

It demonstrates that k_T-factorization at leading order already includes effects comparable to NLO collinear calculations for Z and W production.

Findings

k_T-factorization results agree with NLO collinear calculations

LO k_T-factorization captures higher-order effects

Provides numerical analysis using CASCADE at LHC energies

Abstract

We calculate and analyze Z and W production in association with quark-antiquark pair in k_T-factorization. Numerical calculations are performed using the Monte Carlo generator CASCADE for proton proton collisions at LHC energy. We compare total and differential cross sections calculated in k_T-factorization approach with total differential cross sections obtained in LO and NLO calculations in collinear factorization approach. We provide strong evidence that some of the effects of the NLO and even higher order collinear calculation are already included in the LO k_T-factorization calculation.