Exact Top-Quark Mass Dependence in Hadronic Higgs Production

Area of Science:

• High Energy Physics
• Quantum Chromodynamics
• Particle Physics

Background:

• The precise calculation of Higgs boson production cross sections is crucial for interpreting experimental results at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
• The impact of the finite top-quark mass on these calculations has been a long-standing theoretical challenge for nearly three decades.
• Previous approximations, such as the Higgs effective field theory, did not fully capture this finite mass effect at higher perturbative orders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compute the impact of the finite top-quark mass on the inclusive Higgs production cross section at next-to-next-to-leading order in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD).
• To resolve a significant theoretical uncertainty in Higgs production cross section calculations relevant for LHC physics.
• To provide a more accurate theoretical prediction for Higgs boson production.

Main Methods:

• Performed calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD.
• Specifically computed the contribution of the finite top-quark mass to the inclusive Higgs production cross section.
• Analyzed both the purely gluonic channel and formally subleading partonic channels.

Main Results:

• The finite top-quark mass introduces a +0.62% correction in the purely gluonic channel compared to the Higgs effective field theory approximation.
• However, formally subleading partonic channels lead to an overall negative correction.
• The net effect results in an overall correction of -0.26% at 13 TeV and -0.1% at 8 TeV collision energies.

Conclusions:

• This computation significantly reduces a major theoretical uncertainty in the inclusive Higgs production cross section at the LHC.
• The findings provide a more precise theoretical prediction for Higgs production, essential for precision measurements.
• The study resolves a nearly 30-year-old question regarding the top-quark mass impact in perturbative QCD calculations.