Normalizing Weak Boson Pair Production at the Large Hadron Collider

TL;DR

This paper investigates methods to normalize weak boson pair production at the LHC, focusing on ratios of cross-sections and jet veto survival probabilities, with theoretical errors kept below 20%.

Contribution

It introduces new normalization techniques using cross-section ratios and Drell-Yan data to improve predictions of weak boson pair production.

Findings

Theoretical errors are less than 20% for the proposed quantities.

Ratios of cross-sections effectively normalize weak boson production.

Jet veto survival probability can be predicted from Drell-Yan data.

Abstract

The production of two weak bosons at the Large Hadron Collider will be one of the most important sources of SM backgrounds for final states with multiple leptons. In this paper we consider several quantities that can help normalize the production of weak boson pairs. Ratios of inclusive cross-sections for production of two weak bosons and Drell-Yan are investigated and the corresponding theoretical errors are evaluated. The possibility of predicting the jet veto survival probability of VV production from Drell-Yan data is also considered. Overall, the theoretical errors on all quantities remain less than 5-20%. The dependence of these quantities on the center of mass energy of the proton-proton collision is also studied.