QCD predictions for vector boson plus hadron production at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper provides next-to-leading order QCD predictions for vector boson plus hadron production at the LHC, aiding the understanding of proton structure and fragmentation processes through comparison with experimental data.

Contribution

It extends the antenna subtraction formalism to include fragmentation processes at NLO accuracy for vector boson plus hadron production in hadron colliders.

Findings

Predictions agree with LHCb and ATLAS measurements at 13 TeV.

Demonstrates the effectiveness of the extended antenna subtraction method.

Provides insights into fragmentation functions and parton content of protons.

Abstract

The identification of a hadron in the final state of hadron-collider events that feature a leptonically decaying vector boson can provide essential information on the parton content of the colliding protons. Moreover, the study of hadrons inside jets can provide deeper insights into the fragmentation dynamics. We provide theoretical predictions for specific observables involving either the production of a $Z$ boson in association with light charged hadrons inside a jet or the production of a $W$ boson together with a charmed hadron. We present results for various fragmentation functions and compare our predictions with measurements by LHCb and ATLAS at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. Our predictions are obtained using the antenna subtraction formalism which has been extended to cope with infrared singularities associated to the fragmentation processes in a hadron-collider environment at NLO accuracy.