Strange, charm, and bottom flavors in CTEQ global analysis

TL;DR

This paper discusses recent advances in determining strange, charm, and bottom quark parton distribution functions through CTEQ global analyses, impacting precision measurements and new physics searches at the LHC.

Contribution

It introduces a consistent treatment of heavy-quark thresholds, an independent strangeness PDF parametrization, and explores the potential for intrinsic charm in the proton.

Findings

Improved heavy-quark threshold treatment in DIS

Independent parametrization of strangeness PDF

Evidence or constraints on intrinsic charm presence

Abstract

I discuss advances in the determination of strange, charm, and bottom quark parton distribution functions obtained in the CTEQ6.5 and CTEQ6.6 global analyses. These results affect electroweak precision observables and certain new physics searches at the Large Hadron Collider. I focus, in particular, on high-energy implications of the consistent treatment of heavy-quark threshold effects in DIS in the general-mass factorization scheme; an independent parametrization for the strangeness PDF; and the possible presence of nonperturbative ("intrinsic") charm.