Non-factorizable virtual corrections to Higgs boson production in weak boson fusion beyond the eikonal approximation

TL;DR

This paper calculates the leading power correction to non-factorizable virtual Higgs production in weak boson fusion beyond the eikonal approximation, showing it can significantly affect cross section estimates.

Contribution

It provides the first computation of the leading power correction beyond the eikonal approximation for non-factorizable virtual corrections in Higgs production.

Findings

Leading power correction is proportional to Higgs transverse momentum or mass over energy.

Correction can be enhanced by Higgs rapidity.

Correction reduces non-factorizable contribution estimates by about 30%.

Abstract

Non-factorizable virtual corrections to Higgs boson production in weak boson fusion at next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD were estimated in the eikonal approximation [1]. This approximation corresponds to the expansion of relevant amplitudes around the forward limit. In this paper we compute the leading power correction to the eikonal limit and show that it is proportional to first power of the Higgs boson transverse momentum or the Higgs boson mass over partonic center-of-mass energy. Moreover, this correction can be significantly enhanced by the rapidity of the Higgs boson. For realistic weak boson fusion cuts, the next-to-eikonal correction reduces the estimate of non-factorizable contributions to fiducial cross section by O(30) percent.