Parton distributions in the SMEFT from high-energy Drell-Yan tails

TL;DR

This paper investigates how high-energy Drell-Yan processes at the LHC can simultaneously constrain parton distribution functions and effective field theory parameters, highlighting the interplay and potential reabsorption effects.

Contribution

It introduces a joint determination method for PDFs and EFT Wilson coefficients, assessing impacts on bounds and proton structure at the High-Luminosity LHC.

Findings

Quantifies the impact of EFT on high-x PDFs.

Shows potential for HL-LHC to constrain EFT parameters.

Analyzes reabsorption of EFT signals into PDFs.

Abstract

We present a study of the interplay between PDF and EFT effects in high-mass Drell-Yan at the LHC. We quantify the impact of a consistent joint determination of the PDFs and Wilson coefficients on the bounds obtained on the EFT and examine the effect on the PDFs, determining the extent to which EFT signals could be reabsorbed into the large-$x$ quark and anti-quark PDFs. Finally, we present dedicated projections for the High-Luminosity LHC and evaluate its ultimate potential to constrain the EFT parameters, while taking into account potential modifications of the proton structure.