Factorization for generic jet production

TL;DR

This paper develops a universal factorization formalism using soft-collinear effective theory for predicting a wide range of jet observables in collider experiments, applicable to various collision types and jet algorithms.

Contribution

It introduces a general factorization framework that applies to any observable and collision type, with explicit definitions of jet and soft functions for different cases.

Findings

Derived a universal factorization formula for jet observables.

Worked out specific results for two-jet production in e+e- and pp collisions.

Discussed how the formalism handles underlying events and beam remnants.

Abstract

Factorization is the central ingredient in any theoretical prediction for collider experiments. We introduce a factorization formalism that can be applied to any desired observable, like event shapes or jet observables, for any number of jets and a wide range of jet algorithms in leptonic or hadronic collisions. This is achieved by using soft-collinear effective theory to prove the formal factorization of a generic fully-differential cross section in terms of a hard coefficient, and generic jet and soft functions. In this formalism, whether a given observable factorizes in the usual sense, depends on whether it is inclusive enough, so the jet functions can be calculated perturbatively. The factorization formula for any such observable immediately follows from our general result, including the precise definition of the jet and soft functions appropriate for the observable in question. As examples of our formalism, we work out several results in two-jet production for both e+e- and pp collisions. For the latter, we also comment on how our formalism allows one to treat underlying events and beam remnants.