MRST partons and uncertainties

TL;DR

This paper examines uncertainties in determining parton distributions from global data analyses, providing stable sets at NLO and NNLO, and discusses their implications for alpha_s and W production cross sections.

Contribution

It introduces conservative, stable parton distribution sets at NLO and NNLO, accounting for data cut sensitivities and providing updated predictions for key observables.

Findings

Stable parton sets at NLO and NNLO levels.

Quantified uncertainties in alpha_s(M_Z^2).

Predicted W production cross sections at Tevatron.

Abstract

We discuss uncertainties in the extraction of parton distributions from global analyses of DIS and related data. We present conservative sets of partons, at both NLO and NNLO, which are stable to x,Q^2,W^2 cuts on the data. We give the corresponding values of alpha(M_Z^2) and the cross sections for W production at the Tevatron.