Anatomy of double heavy-quark initiated processes

TL;DR

This paper analyzes heavy-quark initiated processes at hadron colliders, focusing on collinear logarithms, scheme relations, and the impact of resummation on predictions for various boson productions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of initial-state collinear logarithms and compares different flavour schemes, highlighting the effects of resummation on theoretical predictions.

Findings

Resummation shifts predictions by about 20%.

Resummation reduces scale uncertainties.

Initial-state logarithms are mitigated by kinematic effects.

Abstract

A number of phenomenologically relevant processes at hadron colliders, such as Higgs and Z boson production in association with b quarks, can be conveniently described as scattering of heavy quarks in the initial state. We present a detailed analysis of this class of processes, identifying the form of the leading initial-state collinear logarithms that allow the relation of calculations performed in different flavour schemes in a simple and reliable way. This procedure makes it possible to assess the size of the logarithmically enhanced terms and the effects of their resummation via heavy-quark parton distribution functions. As an application, we compare the production of (SM-like and heavy) scalar and vector bosons in association with b quarks at the LHC in the four- and five-flavour schemes as well as the production of a heavy Z' in association with top quarks at a future 100 TeV hadron collider in the five- and six-flavour schemes. We find that, in agreement with a previous analysis of single heavy-quark initiated processes, the size of the initial-state logarithms is mitigated by a kinematical suppression. The most important effects of the resummation are a shift of the central predictions typically of about 20% at a justified value of the scale of each considered process and a significant reduction of scale variation uncertainties.