Resummation Effects in Vector-Boson and Higgs Associated Production

TL;DR

This paper combines advanced QCD calculations with soft-gluon resummation techniques to improve predictions for vector-boson and Higgs associated production at hadron colliders, demonstrating excellent convergence and providing insights into low transverse momentum effects.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive resummation approach for both threshold and low p_T logarithms in VH production, enhancing the accuracy of theoretical predictions.

Findings

Resummation effects stabilize total cross section predictions.

NNNLL resummed cross sections align closely with NNLO fixed-order results.

Resummation of p_T spectrum indicates significant impact of jet-vetoes on cross sections.

Abstract

Fixed-order QCD radiative corrections to the vector-boson and Higgs associated production channels, pp -> VH (V=W, Z), at hadron colliders are well understood. We combine higher order perturbative QCD calculations with soft-gluon resummation of both threshold logarithms and logarithms which are important at low transverse momentum of the VH pair. We study the effects of both types of logarithms on the scale dependence of the total cross section and on various kinematic distributions. The next-to-next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNNLL) resummed total cross sections at the LHC are almost identical to the fixed-order perturbative next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) rates, indicating the excellent convergence of the perturbative QCD series. Resummation of the VH transverse momentum (p_T) spectrum provides reliable results for small values of p_T and suggests that implementing a jet-veto will significantly decrease the cross sections.