Resummation of combined QCD-electroweak effects in Drell Yan lepton-pair production

TL;DR

This paper develops a high-precision resummation framework for combined QCD-electroweak corrections in Drell Yan lepton-pair production, crucial for accurate Standard Model parameter measurements at colliders.

Contribution

It introduces a state-of-the-art resummation method at next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy including mixed QCD-electroweak effects with full kinematic dependence, advancing beyond previous QCD-only approaches.

Findings

Electroweak corrections cause significant shape distortions in key observables.

Inclusion of mixed QCD-electroweak effects improves theoretical predictions for LHC analyses.

Full kinematic dependence enables realistic differential comparisons with experimental data.

Abstract

We consider neutral- and charged-current Drell Yan lepton-pair production at hadron colliders, and include dominant classes of electroweak and mixed QCD-electroweak corrections to all orders in perturbation theory. The accurate description of these physical effects is vital for a precise determination of fundamental Standard Model parameters, such as the $W$-boson mass and the electroweak mixing angle, as well as for a solid assessment of the associated theoretical uncertainties. Our state-of-the-art resummation reaches next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy in both the electroweak and the mixed QCD-electroweak perturbative expansions, including constant terms at first order beyond Born level in both couplings, i.e. at order $\alpha$ and $\alpha_s \alpha$. These effects are incorporated on top of QCD predictions at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy, which include constant terms at third order in the strong coupling. Our results retain, for the first time at this accuracy, full dependence on the kinematics of the final-state leptons, thereby enabling a realistic comparison with experimental analyses at the differential level in presence of fiducial cuts. We present a phenomenological analysis of the impact of electroweak corrections in relevant observables at the LHC. We find visible shape distortions in resummation-dominated kinematical regions with respect to pure-QCD predictions, highlighting the importance of a complete description, not limited to QCD, for precision Drell Yan physics.