W/Z + Jets and W/Z + Heavy Flavor Jets at the Tevatron

TL;DR

This paper reviews Tevatron measurements of W/Z bosons produced with jets, focusing on testing pQCD predictions and understanding heavy flavor jet backgrounds relevant for top and Higgs searches.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of experimental data with the latest theoretical models for W/Z + jets and heavy flavor jets at the Tevatron.

Findings

W/Z + jets data tests pQCD predictions

Heavy flavor jet measurements inform top/Higgs background estimates

Results support or challenge current theoretical models

Abstract

Studies of the production of W/Z + jets are important for a variety of reasons. W/Z + inclusive jets is a valuable high statistics sample that allows one to probe the validity of predictions from perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (pQCD) at both leading and next-to-leading order. W/Z + heavy flavor jets (those originating from b or c production) is a significant background to top and Higgs at the Tevatron and will play an important role at the LHC as well. Herein the latest Tevatron results on these production mechanisms are reviewed with an emphasis on comparison of data results to the latest theoretical models.