Next to Soft Threshold Resummation for $VH$ Production

TL;DR

This paper improves theoretical predictions for Higgs and vector boson associated production at the LHC by applying advanced threshold resummation techniques, achieving higher accuracy in cross section calculations.

Contribution

It introduces next-to-soft virtual resummation for $VH$ production, enhancing the precision of QCD predictions by matching to NNLO fixed order results.

Findings

Threshold corrections computed to NNLL accuracy.

Predictions matched to NNLO results for invariant mass distribution.

Provides total cross sections at NNLO+NNLL accuracy.

Abstract

We study the threshold effects for the associated production of a Higgs boson with a massive vector boson $(V=Z,W)$ in the $q\bar{q} \rightarrow V^\star \rightarrow VH$ process at the LHC. By leveraging the universality of threshold logarithms and employing soft-virtual (SV) and next-to-soft virtual (NSV) resummation techniques, we compute threshold corrections to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. After matching the resummed predictions to the Next-to-Next-to-Leading order (NNLO) fixed order results, we present the invariant mass distribution to NNLO$+\overline{\text{NNLL}}$ accuracy in QCD for the current LHC energies and the total production cross sections. The $VH$ production channel is crucial for studying the couplings of the Higgs boson to the vector bosons $(W,Z)$ and understanding the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking. Precision measurements of this process help test the validity of the standard model (SM) and can reveal potential deviations indicating new physics.