Energy-Energy Correlators for Precision QCD

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in Energy-Energy Correlators (EEC) as precision tools for probing QCD dynamics, extracting fundamental constants, and studying high-energy collision phenomena, with prospects for future collider applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of EEC applications in various collision types and discusses new opportunities at future colliders like the Electron-Ion Collider.

Findings

EEC effectively probes perturbative and non-perturbative QCD.

EEC can be used to extract the strong coupling constant.

EEC-related variables aid in tagging boosted objects.

Abstract

In this contribution to the Proceedings of the US Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2021) we review recent progress in the evaluation and application of the Energy-Energy Correlator (EEC) event shape observable in $e^+e^-$ annihilation, hadronic collisions, and deep inelastic scattering. The importance of EEC as a precision probe of the perturbative and non perturbative aspects of QCD dynamics is emphasized. It can be used to extract the strong coupling constant and to constrain TMD distribution functions. Closely related energy-correlation shape variables have also been used to tag boosted objects produced in high energy collisions. The opportunities to study EEC at the future Electron-Ion Collider are also highlighted.