73541374
The matrix element method at next-to-leading order
A bstractThis paper presents an extension of the matrix element method to next-to-leading order in perturbation theory, for electro-weak final states. To accomplish this we have developed a method to calculate next-to-leading order weights on an event-by-event basis. This allows for the definition of next-to-leading order likelihoods in exactly the same fashion as at leading order, thus extending the matrix element method to next-to-leading order. A welcome by-product of the method is the straightforward and efficient generation of unweighted next-to-leading order events. As examples of the application of our next-to-leading order matrix element method we consider the measurement of the mass of the Z boson and also the search for the Higgs boson in the four lepton channel.
118200237
Higgs + 2 jets: Compact Analytic Results
This report describes the recent efforts to compute analytic formulae for the Next-to-Leading-Order (NLO) QCD corrections to Higgs plus two jet production at hadron colliders. In these calculations the Higgs boson couples to gluons via a top-quark loop which is integrated out to form an effective vertex. The amplitudes are further simplified by splitting the real Higgs scalar into the sum of two complex scalars phi and phi^dagger. Four-dimensional unitarity is used to construct the cut-containing pieces of the amplitude, while a variety of bootstrap and Feynman diagram techniques are used to construct the rational pieces. The results described here are valid in the limit of a large top quark mass and when the transverse momenta of the jets are less than mt.
118518956
Bounding the Higgs width at the LHC
We present results for the Standard model description of the four-lepton production, mediated both by Higgs boson production and by other one-loop standard model processes. The description of four-lepton final states in MCFM v6.8 is reviewed, with special reference to the interference effects that can occur for identical species of leptons. We present results both for interference in the $l^+l^- l^- l^+$ and in the $$l^-l^+ \nu_l \bar{\nu}_l$$ final state. Prospects for further improvement in the theoretical description of four lepton production are also reviewed.
119117389
Event-by-event weighting at next-to-leading order
We present a general method of associating next-to-leading order weights to leading order phase space configurations at hadron colliders. Themethod relies on a re-organizationof phase space for the real radiation contributions, defining a one-to-manymap such that each point in the real phase space is associated with a distinct Born topology. As a result virtual and real singularities cancel at each Born phase space point. The new phase space maps can be used in a traditional approach for NLO calculations. However, interesting applications arise when one instead integrates out the real radiation up to a specified scale. This allows one to define NLOweights for individual phase space points that are present at LO. This method allows for the extension of matrix element methods to next-to-leading order, even in the presence of jets. We discuss some recent applications of the matrix element method to Higgs physics at the LHC.
119294804
Next-to-Leading Order Predictions for Dark Matter Production at Hadron Colliders
We provide Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) predictions for Dark Matter (DM) production in association with either a jet or a photon at hadron colliders. In particular we study the production of a pair of fermionic DM particles through a mediator which couples to SM via either a vector, axial-vector, scalar, pseudo-scalar, or gluon-induced coupling. Experimental constraints on the scale of new physics associated with these operators are limited by systematics, highlighting the need for NLO signal modeling. We factorize the NLO QCD and the DM parts of the calculation, allowing the possibility of using the results presented here for a large variety of searches in monojet and monophoton nal states. Our results are implemented into the Monte Carlo program MCFM.
118842322
Triphoton production at hadron colliders
We present next-to-leading order predictions for the production of triphoton final states at the LHC and the Tevatron. Our results include the effect of photon fragmentation for the first time and we are able to quantify the impact of different isolation prescriptions. We find that calculations accounting for fragmentation effects at leading order, and those employing a smooth cone isolation where no fragmentation contribution is required, are in reasonable agreement with one another. However, larger differences in the predicted rates arise when higher order corrections to the fragmentation functions are included. In addition we present full analytic results for the $$\gamma\gamma\gamma$$ and $$\gamma\gamma+$$jet one-loop amplitudes. These amplitudes, which are particularly compact, may be useful to future higher-order calculations. Our results are available in the Monte Carlo code MCFM.
115853080
Coulomb instabilities and multifragment decays
116890114
The MIDAS Experiment: A New Technique for the Detection of Extensive Air Showers
Recent measurements suggest free electrons created in ultra-high energy cosmic ray extensive air showers (EAS) can interact with neutral air molecules producing Bremsstrahlung radiation in the microwave regime. The microwave radiation produced is expected to scale with the number of free electrons in the shower, which itself is a function of the energy of the primary particle and atmospheric depth. Using these properties a calorimetric measurement of the EAS is possible. This technique is analogous to fluorescence detection with the added benefit of a nearly 100% duty cycle and practically no atmospheric attenuation. The Microwave Detection of Air Showers (MIDAS) prototype is currently being developed at the University of Chicago. MIDAS consists of a 53 feed receiver operating in the 3.4 to 4.2 GHz band. The camera is deployed on a 4.5 meter parabolic reflector and is instrumented with high speed power detectors and autonomous FPGA trigger electronics. We present the current status of the MIDAS instrument and an outlook for future development.
118445236
The Air Microwave Yield (AMY) experiment - A laboratory measurement of the microwave emission from extensive air showers
The AMY experiment aims to measure the microwave bremsstrahlung radiation (MBR) emitted by air-showers secondary electrons accelerating in collisions with neutral molecules of the atmosphere. The measurements are performed using a beam of 510 MeV electrons at the Beam Test Facility (BTF) of Frascati INFN National Laboratories. The goal of the AMY experiment is to measure in laboratory conditions the yield and the spectrum of the GHz emission in the frequency range between 1 and 20 GHz. The final purpose is to characterise the process to be used in a next generation detectors of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. A description of the experimental setup and the first results are presented.
119118160
A Search for Microwave Emission From Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
We present a search for microwave emission from air showers induced by ultrahigh energy cosmic rays with the microwave detection of air showers experiment. No events were found, ruling out a wide range of power flux and coherence of the putative emission, including those suggested by recent laboratory measurements.
118789728
The MIDAS experiment: A prototype for the microwave emission of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays
Recent measurements suggest that extensive air showers initiated by ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) emit signals in the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum caused by the collisions of the free-electrons with the atmospheric neutral molecules in the plasma produced by the passage of the shower. Such emission is isotropic and could allow the detection of air showers with 100% duty cycle and a calorimetric-like energy measurement, a significant improvement over current detection techniques. We have built MIDAS (MIcrowave Detection of Air Showers), a prototype of microwave detector, which consists of a 4.5 m diameter antenna with a cluster of 53 feed-horns in the 4 GHz range. The details of the prototype and first results will be presented.