Predictions for <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi></mml:math>-Boson Production in Association with a <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>b</mml:mi></mml:math>-Jet at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="script">O</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>α</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mi>s</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math>
R. Gauld, A. Gehrmann–De Ridder, E. W. N. Glover, Alexander Huss, I. Májer
Abstract
Precise predictions are provided for the production of a Z boson and a b-jet in hadron-hadron collisions within the framework of perturbative QCD, at O(α_{s}^{3}). To obtain these predictions, we perform the first calculation of a hadronic scattering process involving the direct production of a flavored jet at next-to-next-to-leading-order accuracy in massless QCD and extend techniques to also account for the impact of finite heavy-quark mass effects. The predictions are compared to CMS data obtained in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, which are the most precise data from run I of the LHC for this process, where a good description of the data is achieved. To allow this comparison, we have performed an unfolding of the data, which overcomes the long-standing issue that the experimental and theoretical definitions of jet flavor are incompatible.