W physics at the LHC with FEWZ 2.1

TL;DR

This paper introduces FEWZ 2.1, an improved computational tool for precise W and Z boson production calculations at the LHC, featuring new observables, faster performance, and enhanced comparison with experimental data.

Contribution

FEWZ 2.1 provides significant speed improvements, new features, and observables for W/Z production calculations, enabling more accurate and direct comparisons with LHC measurements.

Findings

Demonstrates an order-of-magnitude speed increase over FEWZ 2.0

Presents new phenomenological results for W production

Highlights the importance of fiducial-region comparisons

Abstract

We present an updated version of the FEWZ (Fully Exclusive W and Z production) code for the calculation of W and gamma*/Z production at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling. Several new features and observables are introduced, and an order-of-magnitude speed improvement over the performance of FEWZ 2.0 is demonstrated. New phenomenological results for W production and comparisons with LHC data are presented, and used to illustrate the range of physics studies possible with the features of FEWZ 2.1. We demonstrate with an example the importance of directly comparing fiducial-region measurements with theoretical predictions, rather than first extrapolating them to the full phase space.