Central Exclusive Production in QCD

TL;DR

This paper refines the theoretical understanding of central exclusive production in QCD, specifically adjusting the scale in the Sudakov factor, which significantly impacts cross-section predictions for Higgs-like systems.

Contribution

It provides a corrected scale for the Sudakov factor in the theoretical model, aligning with fixed-order calculations and improving the accuracy of cross-section estimates.

Findings

Replaces the scale mu=0.62√ŝ with mu=√ŝ in the Sudakov factor.

Results in approximately a twofold suppression of cross-section predictions.

Confirmed the correction through fixed-order calculations.

Abstract

We investigate the theoretical description of the central exclusive production process, h1+h2 -> h1+X+h2. Taking Higgs production as an example, we sum logarithmically enhanced corrections appearing in the perturbation series to all orders in the strong coupling. Our results agree with those originally presented by Khoze, Martin and Ryskin except that the scale appearing in the Sudakov factor, mu=0.62 \sqrt{\hat{s}}, should be replaced with mu=\sqrt{\hat{s}}, where \sqrt{\hat{s}} is the invariant mass of the centrally produced system. We confirm this result using a fixed-order calculation and show that the replacement leads to approximately a factor 2 suppression in the cross-section for central system masses in the range 100-500 GeV.