Search

We present version 2.2 of the High Energy Jets (HEJ) Monte Carlo event generator for hadronic scattering processes at high energies. The new version adds support for two further processes of central phenomenological interest, namely the production of a W boson pair with equal charge together with two or more jets and the production of a Higgs boson with at least one jet. Furthermore, a new prediction for charged lepton pair production with high jet multiplicities is provided in the high-energy limit. The accuracy of HEJ 2.2 can be increased further through an enhanced interface to standard predictions based on conventional perturbation theory. We describe all improvements and provide extensive usage examples. HEJ 2.2 can be obtained from https://hej.hepforge.org., Comment: 36 pages, 6 figures and many code listings. Journal version

We present all-order predictions for Higgs boson production plus at least one jet which are accurate to leading logarithm in $\hat s/|p_\perp|^2$. Our calculation includes full top and bottom quark mass dependence at all orders in the logarithmic part, and to highest available order in the tree-level matching. The calculation is implemented in the framework of High Energy Jets (HEJ). This is the first cross section calculated with $\log(\hat s)$ resummation and matched to fixed order for a process requiring just one jet, and our results also extend the region of resummation for processes with two jets or more. This is possible because the resummation is performed explicitly in phase space. We compare the results of our new calculation to LHC data and to next-to-leading order predictions and find a numerically significant impact of the logarithmic corrections in the shape of key distributions, which remains after normalisation of the cross section., Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures; v2: plots updated with HX component, matches published version

A necessary ingredient for extending the BFKL equation to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL) accuracy is the one-loop central emission vertex (CEV) for two gluons which are not strongly ordered in rapidity. Here we consider the one-loop six-gluon amplitude in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory in a central next-to-multi-Regge kinematic (NMRK) limit, we show that its dispersive part factorises in terms of the two-gluon CEV, and we use it to extract the one-loop two-gluon CEV for any helicity configuration within this theory. This is a component of the two-gluon CEV in QCD. Although computed in the NMRK limit, both the colour structure and the kinematic dependence of the two-gluon CEV capture much of the complexity of the six-gluon amplitudes in general kinematics. In fact, the transcendental functions of the latter can be conveniently written in terms of impact factors, trajectories, single-emission CEVs and a remainder, which is a function of the conformally invariant cross ratios which characterise the six-gluon amplitudes in planar $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. Finally, as expected, in the MRK limit the two-gluon CEV neatly factorises in terms of two single-emission CEVs., Comment: 85 pages, 13 figures

We present version 2.1 of the High Energy Jets (HEJ) event generator for hadron colliders. HEJ is a Monte Carlo generator for processes at high energies with multiple well-separated jets in the final state. To achieve accurate predictions, conventional fixed-order perturbative QCD is supplemented with an all-order resummation of large high-energy logarithms. The new version 2.1 now supports processes with final-state leptons originating from a charged or neutral vector boson together with multiple jets, in addition to processes available in earlier versions. Furthermore, the all-order resummation is extended to include an additional gauge-invariant class of subdominant logarithmic corrections. HEJ 2.1 can be obtained from https://hej.hepforge.org., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures

Webs are sets of Feynman diagrams which manifest soft gluon exponentiation in gauge theory scattering amplitudes: individual webs contribute to the logarithm of the amplitude and their ultraviolet renormalization encodes its infrared structure. In this paper, we consider the particular class of boomerang webs, consisting of multiple gluon exchanges, but where at least one gluon has both of its endpoints on the same Wilson line. First, we use the replica trick to prove that diagrams involving self-energy insertions along the Wilson line do not contribute to the web, i.e. their exponentiated colour factor vanishes. Consequently boomerang webs effectively involve only integrals where boomerang gluons straddle one or more gluons that connect to other Wilson lines. Next we classify and calculate all boomerang webs involving semi-infinite non-lightlike Wilson lines up to three-loop order, including a detailed discussion of how to regulate and renormalize them. Furthermore, we show that they can be written using a basis of specific harmonic polylogarithms, that has been conjectured to be sufficient for expressing all multiple gluon exchange webs. However, boomerang webs differ from other gluon-exchange webs by featuring a lower and non-uniform transcendental weight. We cross-check our results by showing how certain boomerang webs can be determined by the so-called collinear reduction of previously calculated webs. Our results are a necessary ingredient of the soft anomalous dimension for non-lightlike Wilson lines at three loops., Comment: 78 pages

We describe the calculation of the QCD contribution to same-sign $W$-pair production, $pp\to e^\pm \nu_e \mu^\pm \nu_\mu jj$, resumming all contributions scaling as $\alpha_W^4 \alpha_s^{2+k}\log^k(\hat s/p_\perp^2)$ [arXiv:2107.06818]. These leading logarithmic contributions are enhanced by typical cuts used for Vector Boson Scattering (VBS) studies. We show that while the cross sections are little affected by these corrections, other more exclusive observables relevant for experimental studies are affected more significantly., Comment: DIS2021 proceedings, prepared for submission to SciPost

We present the results of the first calculation of the logarithmic corrections to the QCD contribution to same-sign $W$-pair production, $pp\to e^\pm \nu_e \mu^\pm \nu_\mu jj$, for same-sign charged leptons. This includes all leading logarithmic contributions which scale as $\alpha_W^4 \alpha_s^{2+k}\log^k(\hat s/p_\perp^2)$. This process is important for the study of electroweak couplings and hence the QCD contributions are usually suppressed through a choice of Vector Boson Scattering (VBS) cuts. These select regions of phase space where logarithms in $\hat s/p_\perp^2$ are enhanced. While the logarithmic corrections lead to a small change for the cross sections, several distributions relevant for experimental studies are affected more significantly., Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures v2: Matches published version (Dec 2021)

Large logarithmic corrections in $\hat s/p_t^2$ lead to substantial variations in the perturbative predictions for inclusive $W$-plus-dijet processes at the Large Hadron Collider. This instability can be cured by summing the leading-logarithmic contributions in $\hat s/p_t^2$ to all orders in $\alpha_s$. As expected though, leading logarithmic accuracy is insufficient to guarantee a suitable description in regions of phase space away from the high energy limit. We present (i) the first calculation of all partonic channels contributing at next-to-leading logarithmic order in $W$-boson production in association with at least two jets, and (ii) bin-by-bin matching to next-to-leading fixed-order accuracy. This new perturbative input is implemented in \emph{High Energy Jets}, and systematically improves the description of available experimental data in regions of phase space which are formally subleading with respect to $\hat s/p_t^2$., Comment: 54 pages, 23 figures. Journal version

The production of a Higgs boson in association with at least two jets receives contributions both from the fusion of weak vector bosons (VBF) and from QCD processes, especially gluon fusion (GF). The former process is important for measuring the coupling of the Higgs boson to weak bosons, whereas the latter process plays an important role in determining any $CP$-admixtures in the Higgs sector. In this paper we go beyond the current state-of-the-art for fixed order calculations of the GF process (i.e. one loop $H+2j$ including full quark mass effects) by including the all-order effects in leading $\log(\hat s/p_t^2)$, together with full quark mass and loop-propagator kinematic effects. We calculate the mass-dependent components and implement the resummation within the framework of High Energy Jets. The high energy effects suppress the prediction compared to fixed order at large $\Delta y_{12}$ and $m_{jj}$ (and therefore within the usual VBF cuts of widely separated jets), just as found in the limit of $m_t\to \infty$. The mass dependence is more significant than at fixed order, because the systematic inclusion of the leading logarithms in $\hat s/p_t^2$ results in a hardening of the transverse momentum of the Higgs boson, which in turn probes in more detail the loop-structure of the coupling. In particular, the full mass dependence reduces the cross section within VBF cuts by 11\% compared to a calculation based just on the infinite top mass limit, but the impact of the bottom quark remains small. This all implies that the gluon-fusion contribution within VBF-cuts is less severe than current estimates suggest., Comment: v2: New appendix (D) shows the earlier results with an alternative central scale choice, matches published version

Several important processes and analyses at the LHC are sensitive to higher-order perturbative corrections beyond what can currently be calculated at fixed order. The formalism of High Energy Jets (HEJ) calculates the corrections systematically enhanced for a large ratio of the centre-of-mass energy to the transverse momentum of the observed jets. These effects are relevant in the analysis of e.g. Higgs-boson production in association with dijets within the cuts devised to enhance the contribution from Vector Boson Fusion (VBF). HEJ obtains an all-order approximation, based on logarithmic corrections which are matched to fixed-order results in the cases where these can be readily evaluated. In this paper we present an improved framework for the matching utilised in HEJ, which for merging of tree-level results is mathematically equivalent to the one used so far. However, by starting from events generated at fixed order and supplementing these with the all-order summation, it is computationally simpler to obtain matching to calculations of high multiplicity. We demonstrate that the impact of the higher-multiplicity matching on predictions is small for the gluon-fusion (GF) contribution of Higgs-boson production in association with dijets in the VBF-region, so perturbative stability against high-multiplicity matching has been achieved within HEJ. We match the improved HEJ prediction to the inclusive next-to-leading order (NLO) cross section and compare to pure NLO in the h->photon photon channel with standard VBF cuts., Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures

The gluon fusion component of Higgs-boson production in association with dijets is of particular interest because it both (a) allows for a study of the CP-structure of the Higgs-boson couplings to gluons, and (b) provides a background to the otherwise clean study of Higgs-boson production through vector-boson fusion. The degree to which this background can be controlled, and the CP-structure of the gluon-Higgs coupling extracted, both depend on the successful description of the perturbative corrections to the gluon-fusion process. High Energy Jets (HEJ) provides all-order, perturbative predictions for multi-jet processes at hadron colliders at a fully exclusive, partonic level. We develop the framework of HEJ to include the process of Higgs-boson production in association with at least two jets. We discuss the logarithmic accuracy obtained in the underlying all-order results, and calculate the first next-to-leading corrections to the framework of HEJ, thereby significantly reducing the corrections which arise by matching to and merging fixed-order results. Finally, we compare predictions for relevant observables obtained with NLO and HEJ. We observe that the selection criteria commonly used for isolating the vector-boson fusion component suppresses the gluon-fusion component even further than predicted at NLO., Comment: 45 pages, 21 figures; v2: updated reference; v3: discussion in section 3 restructured and expanded, plots corrected, matches journal version

We present a description of the production of a di-lepton pair (through Z boson and virtual photon) in association with at least two jets. This calculation adds to the fixed-order accuracy the dominant logarithms in the limit of large partonic centre-of-mass energy to all orders in the strong coupling. This is achieved within the framework of High Energy Jets. This calculation is made possible by extending the high energy treatment to take into account the multiple t-channel exchanges arising from Z and gamma*-emissions off several quark lines. The correct description of the interference effects from the various t-channel exchanges requires an extension of the subtraction terms in the all-order calculation. We describe this construction and compare the resulting predictions to a number of recent analyses of LHC data. The description of a wide range of observables is good, and, as expected, stands out from other approaches in particular in the regions of large dijet invariant mass and large dijet rapidity spans., Comment: 35 pages, 14 figures; v2: additional appendix discussing scale variation in normalised distributions plus additional comments on scale variation in section 4, matches published version

We compute the resummed hadronic transverse-energy ($E_T$) distribution due to initial-state QCD radiation in the production of a Standard Model Higgs boson of mass 126 GeV by gluon fusion at the Large Hadron Collider, with matching to next-to-leading order calculations at large $E_T$. Effects of hadronization, underlying event and limited detector acceptance are estimated using aMC@NLO with the Herwig++ and Pythia 8 event generators., Comment: 26 pages, 13 figures. Version to appear in JHEP

We study the structure of soft gluon corrections to multi-leg scattering amplitudes in a non-Abelian gauge theory by analysing the corresponding product of semi-infinite Wilson lines. We prove that diagrams exponentiate such that the colour factors in the exponent are fully connected. This completes the generalisation of the non-Abelian exponentiation theorem, previously proven in the case of a Wilson loop, to the case of multiple Wilson lines in arbitrary representations of the colour group. Our proof is based on the replica trick in conjunction with a new formalism where multiple emissions from a Wilson line are described by effective vertices, each having a connected colour factor. The exponent consists of connected graphs made out of these vertices. We show that this readily provides a general colour basis for webs. We further discuss the kinematic combinations that accompany each connected colour factor, and explicitly catalogue all three-loop examples, as necessary for a direct computation of the soft anomalous dimension at this order., Comment: v2 - typos corrected, references added, to appear in JHEP; 57 pages, 21 figures. v3 - correction in Table 2 and Appendix A.2.5; updates references; 57 pages, 21 figures

High Energy Jets provides an all-order description of wide-angle QCD emissions, resumming the leading-logarithmic contributions in the high-energy limit. In this contribution, we briefly summarise the approach and its implementation in a flexible Monte Carlo event generator. We discuss comparisons between HEJ and recent LHC data and then go on to probe the similarities and differences in the results obtained from High Energy Jets and other theoretical frameworks in inclusive dijet and W+dijet production., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Contribution to the proceedings of the DIS 2012 conference (Bonn, March 2012)

We study the production of a W boson in association with n hard QCD jets (for n>=2), with a particular emphasis on results relevant for the Large Hadron Collider (7 TeV and 8 TeV). We present predictions for this process from High Energy Jets, a framework for all-order resummation of the dominant contributions from wide-angle QCD emissions. We first compare predictions against recent ATLAS data and then shift focus to observables and regions of phase space where effects beyond NLO are expected to be large., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures

Both the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations have sought for effects beyond pure next-to-leading order in dijet observables, with the goal to distinguish between the perturbative descriptions provided by a next-to-leading order plus collinear-resummation calculation and by the resummation of wide-angle, hard emissions. In this paper we identify regions of phase space in dijet production where some observables receive large corrections beyond next-to-leading order and study their theoretical description with two tools that perform these two different resummations: the POWHEG BOX and HEJ. Furthermore, we suggest analyses where the predictions from POWHEG and HEJ can be clearly distinguished experimentally., Comment: Version accepted in PRD

We consider the recently developed diagrammatic approach to soft-gluon exponentiation in multiparton scattering amplitudes, where the exponent is written as a sum of webs - closed sets of diagrams whose colour and kinematic parts are entangled via mixing matrices. A complementary approach to exponentiation is based on the multiplicative renormalizability of intersecting Wilson lines, and their subsequent finite anomalous dimension. Relating this framework to that of webs, we derive renormalization constraints expressing all multiple poles of any given web in terms of lower-order webs. We examine these constraints explicitly up to four loops, and find that they are realised through the action of the web mixing matrices in conjunction with the fact that multiple pole terms in each diagram reduce to sums of products of lower-loop integrals. Relevant singularities of multi-eikonal amplitudes up to three loops are calculated in dimensional regularization using an exponential infrared regulator. Finally, we formulate a new conjecture for web mixing matrices, involving a weighted sum over column entries. Our results form an important step in understanding non-Abelian exponentiation in multiparton amplitudes, and pave the way for higher-loop computations of the soft anomalous dimension., Comment: 60 pages, 15 figures

We present a method to match the multi-parton states generated by the High Energy Jets Monte Carlo with parton showers generated by the Ariadne program using the colour dipole model. The High Energy Jets program already includes a full resummation of soft divergences. Hence, in the matching it is important that the corresponding divergences in the parton shower are subtracted, keeping only the collinear parts. We present a novel, shower-independent method for achieving this, enabling us to generate fully exclusive and hadronized events with multiple hard jets, in hadronic collisions. We discuss in detail the arising description of the soft, collinear and hard regions by examples in pure QCD jet-production., Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures; v2: extended discussion of the matching algorithm used, now matches journal version

We present a flexible Monte Carlo implementation of the perturbative framework of High Energy Jets, describing multi-jet events at hadron colliders. The description includes a resummation which ensures leading logarithmic accuracy for large invariant mass between jets, and is matched to tree-level accuracy for multiplicities up to 4 jets. The resummation includes all-order hard corrections, which become important for increasing centre-of-mass energy of the hadronic collision. We discuss observables relevant for confronting the perturbative framework with 7 TeV data from the LHC, and the impact of the perturbative corrections on several dijet and trijet observables which are relevant in the search for new physics.

High Energy Jets (HEJ) is a new framework for approximating the all-order perturbative corrections to multi-jet processes, with a focus on the hard, wide-angle QCD emissions, which underpins the perturbative description of hard jets. In this contribution we review the basic concepts of HEJ, and present some new predictions for observables in dijet-production, and for W-boson production in association with at least 3 jets., Comment: Talk presented at Loop and Legs in Quantum Field Theory, W\"{o}rlitz, Germany, 25th-30th April 2010

We compute the resummed hadronic transverse energy (E_T) distribution due to initial-state QCD radiation in vector boson and Higgs boson production at hadron colliders. The resummed exponent, parton distributions and coefficient functions are treated consistently to next-to-leading order. The results are matched to fixed-order calculations at large E_T and compared with parton-shower Monte Carlo predictions at Tevatron and LHC energies., Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures

We discuss results from a recently proposed all-order description of hard, radiative corrections to certain multi-jet processes at hadron colliders. The description is based on obtaining an all-order estimate of the t-channel singularities of scattering amplitudes. As a simple example, we illustrate the similarities between qQ and qg-scattering. In particular, we discuss how at tree-level, all non-suppressed helicity-amplitudes for these processes consist of a pure t-channel pole. This structure is used in the construction of all-order approximations., Comment: 6 pages. Talk given at RADCOR 2009 - 9th International Symposium on Radiative Corrections (Applications of Quantum Field Theory to Phenomenology), October 25 - 30 2009, Ascona, Switzerland

By exploring the scattering of specific helicity states in quark-gluon scattering at tree level we show explicitly that the t-channel pole can be described exactly as a contraction of two local currents. Furthermore, we demonstrate that out of eight non-zero helicity possibilities, only two suppressed channels have contributions that are not pure, factorised t-channel poles. We thereby extract a gauge-invariant definition for the t-channel current generated by the scattering of a gluon. This offers a slight improvement in the description of gluon scattering in the framework of arXiv:0908.2786 for the prediction of n-jet rates at hadron colliders., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

We discuss the universal behaviour of scattering cross sections in the limit of infinite rapidity separation between all produced particles, and illustrate the behaviour explicitly for the production of n jets, W+n jets, Z+n jets for n=2,3,4, and for H+2,3 jets. We give a set of rules for constructing scattering cross sections, which are exact in the given limit, and order-by-order reproduce well the full fixed order results when applied to LHC phenomenology. The approximation includes both real and virtual corrections, and is sufficiently simple to allow for the regulated all-order perturbative sum to be explicitly constructed. We test the expected accuracy by comparing results order-by-order with full fixed-order perturbation theory for the processes mentioned above., Comment: 35 pages, v2: typos corrected

We explicitly calculate the contribution to Higgs production at the LHC from the interference between gluon-gluon and Weak Vector Boson fusion, and compare it to the pure QCD and pure Electro-weak result. While the effect is small at tree level, we speculate it will be significantly enhanced by loop effects., Comment: 3 pages, v2: Further elaboration on the expected contribution from one-loop effects

We study the extent to which spin assignments of new particles produced at the LHC can be deduced in the decay of a scalar or fermion C into a new stable (or quasi-stable) particle A through the chain C \to B^\pm q, B^\pm \to A W^\pm, W^\pm \to \ell^\pm \nu_\ell where \ell=e,\mu. All possible spin assignments of the particles A and B are considered in order to remain as model-independent as possible. Explicit invariant mass distributions of the quark and lepton are given for each set of spins, valid for all masses. We also construct the asymmetry between the chains with a W- and those with a W+. The Kullback-Leibler distance between the distributions is then calculated to give a quantitative measure of our ability to distinguish the different spin assignments., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures; v2 corrects overall factor of numbers in section 4 resulting in quantitative improvement, qualitative results unchanged. Minor changes to clarify text and ref added;v3, ref fixed; v4, major error in FSV results corrected, appendix about higher dimensional couplings added, minor rewordings, agrees with published version

We extend our earlier study of spin correlations in the decay chain $D\to C q$, $C\to B l^{near}$, $B\to A l^{far}$, where $A,B,C,D$ are new particles with known masses but undetermined spins, $l^{near}$ and $l^{far}$ are opposite-sign same-flavour charged leptons and $A$ is invisible. Instead of looking at the observable 2- and 3-particle invariant mass distributions separately, we compare the full three-dimensional phase space distributions for all possible spin assignments of the new particles, and show that this enhances their distinguishability using a quantitative measure known as the Kullback-Leibler distance., Comment: 5 pages, no figures

If new particles are discovered at the LHC, it will be important to determine their spins in as model-independent a way as possible. We consider the case, commonly encountered in models of physics beyond the Standard Model, of a new scalar or fermion $D$ decaying sequentially into other new particles $C,B,A$ via the decay chain $D\to C q$, $C\to B l^{near}$, $B\to A l^{far}$, $l^{near}$ and $l^{far}$ being opposite-sign same-flavour charged leptons and $A$ being invisible. We compute the observable 2- and 3-particle invariant mass distributions for all possible spin assignments of the new particles, and discuss their distinguishability using a quantitative measure known as the Kullback-Leibler distance., Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures uses Feynarts; v2 has minor corrections and a new section 4.2 which includes the 3D analysis described in hep-ph/0606212; v3 has reference added and typos fixed - matches journal version; v4 corrects typo in equation B9

An interesting alternative to supersymmetry (SUSY) for extending physics beyond the Standard Model is a model with universal extra dimensions (UED), in which the SUSY superpartners are replaced by Kaluza-Klein excitations of the Standard Model particles. If new particles are discovered at the LHC, even if their mass spectrum favours SUSY or UED, it will be vital to distinguish between their spin assignments in the two models as far as possible. We extend the method proposed by Barr [hep-ph/0405052] to the UED case and investigate the angular and charge asymmetries of decay distributions for sample mass spectra of both SUSY and UED types. For hierarchical (`SUSY-type') mass spectra there is a good chance of distinguishing the spin structures of the two models. However, a mass spectrum of the quasi-degenerate type expected in UED would make it difficult to observe spin correlations., Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, uses feynarts. Version 3: cross section for non-identical left-right KK quark production corrected