Two-Loop QCD Corrections to Wbb[over ¯] Production at Hadron Colliders

Area of Science:

• High Energy Physics
• Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
• Particle Physics

Background:

• Precision calculations in particle physics are essential for interpreting experimental data.
• Understanding W boson production in association with bottom quarks is key to testing the Standard Model.
• Previous calculations lacked the precision needed for certain theoretical and experimental contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compute the two-loop quantum chromodynamics (QCD) corrections to the ud[over ¯]→W^{+}bb[over ¯] process.
• To develop an analytic method for handling infrared and ultraviolet divergences in scattering amplitudes.
• To provide a foundation for more precise theoretical predictions in high energy physics.

Main Methods:

• Employed leading color and massless bottom quark approximations.
• Utilized integration-by-parts reduction techniques on the unpolarized squared matrix element.
• Applied finite field reconstruction for analytic calculations.
• Identified a novel basis of special functions for pole subtraction.

Main Results:

• Successfully performed an analytic computation of the two-loop QCD corrections.
• Developed a method for analytic subtraction of infrared and ultraviolet poles.
• Established a basis of special functions applicable to various planar five-particle scattering topologies.

Conclusions:

• The presented analytic computation offers a significant advancement in theoretical precision for the studied process.
• The developed methodology for pole subtraction is broadly applicable to complex scattering calculations.
• This work contributes to a more refined understanding of electroweak and strong interactions in particle physics.