Electroweak corrections to $Z$-boson hadroproduction at finite transverse momentum

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive calculation of electroweak radiative corrections to Z-boson production at finite transverse momentum, including QED, weak, and interference effects, relevant for collider experiments at Tevatron and LHC.

Contribution

It introduces the first detailed analysis of QED and interference contributions to Z-boson hadroproduction at finite p_T, extending previous QCD and weak correction studies.

Findings

QED corrections can significantly affect Z-boson p_T distributions.

Interference effects between QCD and electroweak processes are non-negligible.

Results are applicable to experimental analyses at Tevatron and LHC.

Abstract

We calculate the full one-loop electroweak radiative corrections, of ${\cal O}(\alpha^2\alpha_s)$, to the cross section of single $Z$-boson inclusive hadroproduction at finite transverse momentum ($p_T$). This includes the ${\cal O}(\alpha)$ corrections to $Z+j$ production, the ${\cal O}(\alpha_s)$ corrections to $Z+\gamma$ production, and certain QCD-electroweak interference contributions involving a single quark trace. We recover the QCD and purely weak corrections and study the QED corrections and the QCD-electroweak interference contributions for the first time. We also consider direct and resolved photoproduction in elastic and inelastic scattering. We present $p_T$ and rapidity distributions for the experimental conditions at the Fermilab Tevatron and the CERN LHC and assess the significance of the various contributions.