Matched predictions for the bb¯H cross section at the 13 TeV LHC

• Published in: The journal of high energy physics Vol. 2016; no. 10
• Main Authors: Bonvini, Marco, Papanastasiou, Andrew S., Tackmann, Frank J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 11.10.2016
• Subjects: Classical and Quantum Gravitation; Elementary Particles; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Quantum Physics; Regular Article - Theoretical Physics; Relativity Theory; String Theory; QCD Phenomenology
• ISSN: 1029-8479
• DOI: 10.1007/JHEP10(2016)053

A bstract We present up-to-date matched predictions for the b b ¯ H inclusive cross section at the LHC at s = 13 TeV. Using a previously developed method, our predictions consistently combine the complete NLO contributions that are present in the 4-flavor scheme calculation, including finite b -quark mass effects as well as top-loop induced Y b Y t interference contributions, with the resummation of collinear logarithms of m b /m H as present in the 5-flavor scheme calculation up to NNLO. We provide a detailed estimate of the perturbative uncertainties of the matched result by examining its dependence on the factorization and renormalization scales, the scale of the Yukawa coupling, and also the low b -quark matching scale in the PDFs. We motivate the use of a central renormalization scale of m H / 2, which is halfway between the values typically chosen in the 4-flavor and 5-flavor scheme calculations. We evaluate the parametric uncertainties due to the PDFs and the b -quark mass, and in particular discuss how to systematically disentangle the parametric m b dependence and the unphysical b -quark matching scale dependence. Our best prediction for the b b ¯ H production cross section in the Standard Model at 13 TeV and for m H = 125 GeV is σ b b ¯ H = 0.52 p b 1 ± 9.6 % perturbative − 3.6 % + 2.9 % parametric . We also provide predictions for a range of Higgs masses m H ∈ [50 , 750] GeV. Our method to compute the matched prediction and to evaluate its uncertainty can be readily applied to other heavy-quark-initiated processes at the LHC.