Z boson production in proton-lead collisions: A study utilizing MRW nuclear TMDs

TL;DR

This study compares various TMD models for Z boson production in proton-lead collisions at 8.16 TeV, highlighting differences in their agreement with experimental data and the effects of ordering constraints.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of LO-MRW, NLO-MRW, and PB TMDs in describing Z boson production, emphasizing the role of ordering constraints.

Findings

NLO-MRW model shows better agreement with data in certain regions.

LO-MRW tends to overestimate Z production in some kinematic areas.

Different ordering constraints significantly impact TMD model predictions.

Abstract

This paper investigates the production of Z bosons in proton-lead collisions at a center of mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8.16$ TeV, utilizing various transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions (TMDs), including the leading order Martin-Ryskin-Watt (LO-MRW), next-to-leading order MRW (NLO-MRW), and parton branching (PB) approaches. By comparing theoretical predictions with experimental data from the CMS collaboration, we assess the performance of these TMD models across different kinematic regions. Our analysis reveals that while both LO-MRW and NLO-MRW models generally align well with experimental data, the LO-MRW model tends to overestimate in certain kinematic regions. The NLO-MRW model, with its strong ordering constraint, provides better agreement in these areas. This study highlights the impact of different impositions of angular and strong ordering constraints in the LO-MRW and NLO-MRW approaches in describing Z boson production.