Measurement of Z/gamma*+jet+X angular distributions in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports the first measurements of angular distributions in Z+jet production at a hadron collider, providing crucial tests for QCD predictions and aiding in the tuning of event generators for better sensitivity to rare processes.

Contribution

It presents the first differential cross section measurements of Z+jet production in specific angular variables at a hadron collider, testing perturbative QCD and improving event generator models.

Findings

Measured differential cross sections for Z+jet+X production.

Provided data to test and tune QCD models and event generators.

Enhanced understanding of Z+jet angular distributions in proton-antiproton collisions.

Abstract

We present the first measurements at a hadron collider of differential cross sections for Z+jet+X production in delta phi(Z, jet), |delta y(Z, jet)| and |y_boost(Z, jet)|. Vector boson production in association with jets is an excellent probe of QCD and constitutes the main background to many small cross section processes, such as associated Higgs production. These measurements are crucial tests of the predictions of perturbative QCD and current event generators, which have varied success in describing the data. Using these measurements as inputs in tuning event generators will increase the experimental sensitivity to rare signals.