history: A tool for fully-differential cross sections at next-to-next-to-leading order

TL;DR

The paper introduces 'history', a software tool that calculates fully-differential cross sections at NNLO in QCD for color-singlet processes in hadronic collisions, using a process-independent subtraction scheme.

Contribution

It presents a process-independent implementation of the nested soft-collinear subtraction scheme for NNLO calculations, enabling broad application to various color-singlet production processes.

Findings

Successfully applied to Higgs production via gluon fusion.

Extended to associated Higgs production with electroweak bosons.

Provides a flexible, process-independent computational framework.

Abstract

The software $\texttt{history}$ is designed to calculate fully-differential cross sections for colour-singlet production processes in hadronic collision up to next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD. It is based on the fully-local nested soft-collinear subtraction scheme, whose implementation is entirely process independent. This allows the program to be readily applied to arbitrary colour-singlet production processes, provided the corresponding process-dependent matrix elements are supplied. In the current release, we include matrix elements for Higgs production via gluon fusion, $pp\to H+X$, and for associated Higgs production with a heavy electroweak vector boson through the Drell-Yan-like Higgs-Strahlung mechanism, $pp\to V^\ast +X \to VH+X$, with $V\in\{W,Z\}$.