The physics of $Z^0/\gamma^*$-tagged jets at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper analyzes Z0/γ* tagged jet production at the LHC, providing theoretical predictions for cross sections and exploring their potential to probe QCD dynamics and quark-gluon plasma properties in heavy-ion collisions.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed calculations of Z0/γ*+jet cross sections at NLO and explores their use in studying jet quenching and medium effects in heavy-ion collisions.

Findings

Constraints on jet momentum distribution from Z0/γ* decay dileptons.

Predictions for suppression of Z0/γ*+jet in quark-gluon plasma.

Insights into parton shower modifications in dense nuclear matter.

Abstract

Electroweak bosons produced in conjunction with jets in high-energy collider experiments is one of the principle final-state channels that can be used to test the accuracy of perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics calculations and to assess the potential to uncover new physics through comparison between data and theory. In this paper we present results for the $Z^0/\gamma^*$+jet production cross sections at the LHC at leading and next-to-leading orders. In proton-proton reactions we elucidate up to ${\cal O}(G_F\alpha_s^2)$ the constraints that jet tagging via the $Z^0/\gamma^*$ decay dileptons provides on the momentum distribution of jets. In nucleus-nucleus reactions we demonstrate that tagged jets can probe important aspects of the dynamics of quark and gluon propagation in hot and dense nuclear matter and characterize the properties of the medium-induced parton showers in ways not possible with more inclusive measurements. Finally, we present specific predictions for the anticipated suppression of the $Z^0/\gamma^*$+jet production cross section in the quark-gluon plasma that is expected to be created in central lead-lead collisions at the LHC relative to the naive superposition of independent nucleon-nucleon scatterings.