Production of jets accompanied by W and Z bosons at LHC startup

TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential for early measurements of W and Z boson production with jets at the LHC, emphasizing jet multiplicity, transverse momentum distributions, and their importance for new physics searches.

Contribution

It highlights the feasibility of using initial LHC datasets to study W/Z+jets processes beyond Tevatron capabilities, focusing on ratios and distributions for background understanding.

Findings

Expected datasets will surpass Tevatron in jet multiplicity and P_T range.

Ratios of W+jets to Z+jets can be effectively compared to NLO Monte Carlo predictions.

Early measurements will aid in background estimation for new physics searches.

Abstract

We report on potential for measurement of W and Z boson production accompanied by jets. Of particular interest are jet multiplicity and $P_{\rm T}$ distributions. The 10 to 100 $pb^{-1}$ datasets expected in the startup year of operation of LHC are likely to already provide information beyond the reach of the Tevatron collider both in jet multiplicity and $P_{\rm T}$ range. We are especially interested in understanding the ratios of W+jets to Z+jets distributions by comparing them to next-to-leading order Monte Carlo generators, as these processes present a formidable background for searches of new physics phenomena.