W-boson production in polarized proton-proton collisions at RHIC through next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD
Radja Boughezal, Hai Tao Li, Frank Petriello
Abstract
We perform a study of W-boson production in polarized proton-proton collisions through next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD. This calculation is required to extend the extraction of polarized parton distribution functions to NNLO accuracy. We present differential distributions at s=510 GeV, relevant for comparison to measurements from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The NNLO QCD corrections significantly reduce the scale dependence of the cross section. We compare the longitudinal single-spin asymmetries as a function of lepton pseudorapidity to RHIC data. The asymmetries exhibit excellent stability under perturbative QCD corrections.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsPseudorapidityParticle physicsPerturbative QCDPartonRelativistic Heavy Ion ColliderQuantum chromodynamicsProtonNuclear physicsDistribution functionColliderCharged particleHeavy ionIonQuantum mechanicsParticle physics theoretical and experimental studiesHigh-Energy Particle Collisions ResearchQuantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions