Studies of Quantum Chromodynamics at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper reviews the advances in understanding quantum chromodynamics at the LHC, highlighting theoretical techniques and experimental results that underpin discoveries like the Higgs boson and searches for new physics.

Contribution

It provides an integrated overview of theoretical methods and key measurements in QCD at the LHC, reflecting progress during Run 1.

Findings

Development of theoretical techniques for QCD

Precise measurements of hadron-hadron collisions

Foundation for Higgs discovery and new physics searches

Abstract

A successful description of hadron-hadron collision data demands a profound understanding of quantum chromodynamics. Inevitably, the complexity of strong-interaction phenomena requires the use of a large variety of theoretical techniques -- from perturbative cross-section calculations up to the modelling of exclusive hadronic final states. Together with the unprecedented precision of the data provided by the experiments in the first running period of the LHC, a solid foundation of hadron-hadron collision physics at the TeV scale could be established that allowed the discovery of the Higgs boson and that is vital for estimating the background in searches for new phenomena. This chapter on studies of quantum chromodynamics at the LHC is part of a recent book on the results of LHC Run 1 and presents the advances in theoretical methods side-by-side with related key measurements in an integrated approach.