Two-loop QCD corrections to $Wb\bar{b}$ production at hadron colliders

TL;DR

This paper computes two-loop QCD corrections for W boson production with bottom quarks at hadron colliders, providing analytic results crucial for precise theoretical predictions.

Contribution

It introduces an analytic method for two-loop QCD corrections to Wbar{b} production, utilizing finite field techniques and a new basis of special functions.

Findings

Analytic expressions for two-loop corrections obtained.

Infrared and ultraviolet divergences analytically subtracted.

Applicable to all planar five-particle scattering topologies.

Abstract

We present an analytic computation of the two-loop QCD corrections to $u\bar{d}\to W^+b\bar{b}$ for an on-shell $W$-boson using the leading colour and massless bottom quark approximations. We perform an integration-by-parts reduction of the unpolarised squared matrix element using finite field reconstruction techniques and identify an independent basis of special functions that allows an analytic subtraction of the infrared and ultraviolet poles. This basis is valid for all planar topologies for five-particle scattering with an off-shell leg.