We present the production cross section for a lepton-neutrino pair at the Large Hadron Collider computed at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) in QCD perturbation theory. We compute the partonic coefficient functions of a virtual W ± boson at this order. We then use these analytic functions to study the progression of the perturbative series in different observables. In particular, we investigate the impact of the newly obtained corrections on the inclusive production cross section of W ± bosons, as well as on the ratios of the production cross sections for W +, W  −  and/or a virtual photon. Finally, we present N3LO predictions for the charge asymmetry at the LHC.

CERN

Claude Duhr

United States

Falko Dulat

Bernhard Mistlberger

Charged current Drell-Yan production at N3LO

We present phenomenological results for the inclusive cross section for the production of a lepton pair via virtual photon exchange at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD. In line with the case of Higgs production, we find that the hadronic cross section receives corrections at the percent level, and the residual dependence on the perturbative scales is reduced. However, unlike in the Higgs case, we observe that the uncertainty band derived from scale variation is no longer contained in the band of the previous order.

Drell-Yan Cross Section to Third Order in the Strong Coupling Constant

We present analytic results for the partonic cross sections for the production of a Higgs boson via the fusion of two bottom quarks at N LO in QCD perturbation theory in the five-flavour scheme. We combine this perturbative result with NLO accurate predictions in the four-flavour scheme that include the full bottom quark mass dependence by appropriately removing any double-counting stemming from contributions included in both predictions. We thereby obtain state-of-the-art predictions for the inclusive production probability of a Higgs boson via bottom quark fusion at hadron colliders.

Switzerland

Valentin Hirschi

Higgs production in bottom quark fusion: matching the 4- and 5-flavour schemes to third order in the strong coupling

We present the inclusive cross section at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (<math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup><mi>LO</mi></mrow></math>) in perturbative QCD for the production of a Higgs boson via bottom-quark fusion. We employ the five-flavor scheme, treating the bottom quark as a massless parton while retaining a nonvanishing Yukawa coupling to the Higgs boson. We find that the dependence of the hadronic cross section on the renormalization and factorization scales is substantially reduced. For judicious choices of the scales the perturbative expansion of the cross section shows a convergent behavior. We present results for the <math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>N</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup><mi>LO</mi></mrow></math> cross section at various collider energies. In comparison to the cross section obtained from the Santander matching of the four- and five-flavor schemes, we predict a slightly higher cross section, though the two predictions are consistent within theoretical uncertainties.

Belgium

Higgs Boson Production in Bottom-Quark Fusion to Third Order in the Strong Coupling

We present fully analytic results for all master integrals for the three-loop banana graph with four equal and non-zero masses. The results are remarkably simple and all integrals are expressed as linear combinations of iterated integrals of modular forms of uniform weight for the same congruence subgroup as for the two-loop equal-mass sunrise graph. We also show how to write the results in terms of elliptic polylogarithms evaluated at rational points.

Germany

Johannes Broedel

Robin Marzucca

Brenda Penante

Lorenzo Tancredi

An analytic solution for the equal-mass banana graph

We describe the minimal space of polylogarithmic functions that is required to express the six-particle amplitude in planar   <math> <mi>N</mi> </math>  $$ \mathcal{N} $$  = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory through six and seven loops, in the NMHV and MHV sectors respectively. This space respects a set of extended Steinmann relations that restrict the iterated discontinuity structure of the amplitude, as well as a cosmic Galois coaction principle that constrains the functions and the transcendental numbers that can appear in the amplitude at special kinematic points. To put the amplitude into this space, we must divide it by the BDS-like ansatz and by an additional zeta-valued constant ρ. For this normalization, we conjecture that the extended Steinmann relations and the coaction principle hold to all orders in the coupling. We describe an iterative algorithm for constructing the space of hexagon functions that respects both constraints. We highlight further simplifications that begin to occur in this space of functions at weight eight, and distill the implications of imposing the coaction principle to all orders. Finally, we explore the restricted spaces of transcendental functions and constants that appear in special kinematic configurations, which include polylogarithms involving square, cube, fourth and sixth roots of unity.

Canada

Simon Caron-Huot

Lance Dixon

Denmark

Matt Hippel

Andrew McLeod

Georgios Papathanasiou

The cosmic Galois group and extended Steinmann relations for planar   <math> <mi>N</mi> </math>  $$ \mathcal{N} $$  = 4 SYM amplitudes

We review the Hopf algebra of the multiple polylogarithms and the symbol map, as well as the construction of single valued multiple polylogarithms and discuss an algorithm for finding fibration bases. We document how these algorithms are implemented in the Mathematica package PolyLogTools and show how it can be used to study the coproduct structure of polylogarithmic expressions and how to compute iterated parametric integrals over polylogarithmic expressions that show up in Feynman integal computations at low loop orders.

PolyLogTools — polylogs for the masses

We compute the six-particle maximally-helicity-violating (MHV) and next-to-MHV (NMHV) amplitudes in planar maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory through seven loops and six loops, respectively, as an application of the extended Steinmann relations and using the cosmic Galois coaction principle. Starting from a minimal space of functions constructed using these principles, we identify the amplitude by matching its symmetries and predicted behavior in various kinematic limits. Through five loops, the MHV and NMHV amplitudes are uniquely determined using only the multi-Regge and leading collinear limits. Beyond five loops, the MHV amplitude requires additional data from the kinematic expansion around the collinear limit, which we obtain from the Pentagon Operator Product Expansion, and in particular from its single-gluon bound state contribution. We study the MHV amplitude in the self-crossing limit, where its singular terms agree with previous predictions. Analyzing and plotting the amplitudes along various kinematical lines, we continue to find remarkable stability between loop orders.

Six-Gluon amplitudes in planar   <math> <mi>N</mi> </math>  $$ \mathcal{N} $$  = 4 super-Yang-Mills theory at six and seven loops

In this paper we study the calculation of multiloop Feynman integrals that cannot be expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms. We show in detail how certain types of two- and three-point functions at two loops, which appear in the calculation of higher order corrections in QED, QCD and in the electroweak theory (EW), can naturally be expressed in terms of a recently introduced elliptic generalisation of multiple polylogarithms by direct integration over their Feynman parameter representation. Moreover, we show that in all examples that we considered a basis of pure Feynman integrals can be found.

Elliptic polylogarithms and Feynman parameter integrals

Local, manifestly dual-conformally invariant loop integrands are now known for all finite quantities associated with observables in planar, maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory through three loops. These representations, however, are not infrared-finite term by term and therefore require regularization; and even using a regulator consistent with dual-conformal invariance, ordinary methods of loop integration would naïvely obscure this symmetry. In this work, we show how any planar loop integral through at least two loops can be systematically regulated and evaluated directly in terms of strictly finite, manifestly dual-conformal Feynman-parameter integrals. We apply these methods to the case of the two-loop ratio and remainder functions for six particles, reproducing the known results in terms of individually regulated local loop integrals, and we comment on some of the novelties that arise for this regularization scheme not previously seen at one loop.