Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to s-channel single top quark production and decay at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper calculates NLO QCD corrections to s-channel single top quark production and decay at the LHC, analyzing their impact on cross sections, distributions, and polarization measurements.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed NLO QCD analysis of s-channel single top production and decay, including polarization effects, using the narrow width approximation.

Findings

NLO corrections significantly affect cross sections and distributions.

Different O(alpha_s) contributions alter kinematic observables.

Potential methods for measuring top quark polarization are discussed.

Abstract

We present a study of electroweak production of top and antitop quarks in the s-channel mode at the LHC, including next-to-leading order (NLO) quantum chromodynamics (QCD) corrections to the production and decay of the single (anti)top quark. The spin is preserved in production and decay by using the narrow width approximation for the (anti)top quark. We show the effect of different O(alpha_s) contributions on the inclusive cross section and various kinematic distributions at parton level after imposing relevant kinematic cuts to select s-channel single top quark events. We also discuss several possibilities for measuring the top quark polarization.