Dilepton Rapidity Distribution in Drell-Yan Production to Third Order in QCD

Area of Science:

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

Background:

• The Drell-Yan process is fundamental for studying electroweak interactions.
• Previous calculations have reached next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order for total cross sections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compute the lepton-pair rapidity distribution in the photon-mediated Drell-Yan process for the first time.
• To extend the q_{T}-subtraction method to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) for quark-antiquark initiated processes.
• To provide independent confirmation of N3LO total Drell-Yan cross-section results.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the q_{T}-subtraction method, extended to N3LO.
• Performed calculations for quark-antiquark initiated Born processes.
• Focused on the photon-mediated Drell-Yan process.

Main Results:

• Achieved the first computation of lepton-pair rapidity distribution at N3LO in QCD.
• Observed significant QCD corrections across the entire rapidity region.
• Results independently confirm recent N3LO total Drell-Yan cross-section calculations.

Conclusions:

• The N3LO lepton-pair rapidity distribution provides essential insights into the Drell-Yan process.
• The extended q_{T}-subtraction method is validated for higher-order calculations.
• This work enhances the precision of theoretical predictions in high-energy physics.