We present a fully analytic computation of the complete electron and photon structure functions, or QED lepton parton distribution functions (PDFs) up to two-loop order. Our computation is performed using modern techniques of reduction to Master Integrals and solving them with the differential equation method. We obtain explicit expressions for the electron-in-electron, positron-in-electron, photon-in-electron, electron-in-photon, and photon-in-photon distributions at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). Cross-checks against one-loop results, existing two-loop calculations, and a recent soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) analysis of the electron structure functions are presented.

United States

Marvin Schnubel

Robert Szafron

Electron and photon structure functions at two loops

As upcoming experiments aim to probe muon conversion with unprecedented precision, equally precise theoretical predictions are crucial to maximize discovery potential. This applies not only to the new physics signal, muon-electron conversion, but also to its only irreducible background, muon decay-in-orbit (DIO) near the endpoint. Accurate computation of higher-order corrections in bound states is a long-standing challenge due to the difficulty of systematically organizing contributions. In previous work, we developed an Effective Field Theory framework to address this issue and applied it to muon conversion. Here, we extend this approach to the DIO endpoint, a more complex problem due to the presence of a neutrino-antineutrino pair in the final state. We present the most precise prediction to date of the background spectrum relevant for future muon conversion searches, achieving next-to-leading logarithmic prime accuracy for QED corrections.

Germany

Duarte Fontes

EFT approach to the endpoint of muon decay-in-orbit

<p>The ambitious physics program planned for the Future Circular Collider electron-positron phase imposes stringent constraints on detector performance. This study systematically investigates how different detector configurations impact jet flavor identification and their effects on high-profile physics analyses. Using Higgs boson coupling measurements and searches for invisible Higgs decays as benchmarks, we evaluate the sensitivity of these analyses to variations in tracker and calorimeter detector properties. We examine modifications to single-point resolution, material budget, silicon layer placement, and particle identification capabilities, quantifying their effects on flavor-tagging performance. Additionally, we present the first comprehensive study of Higgs-to-invisible decay detection using full detector simulation, providing insights for optimizing detector designs at lepton colliders.</p>

Haider Abidi

Ketevi A. Assamagan

Diallo Boye

Elizabeth Brost

Viviana Cavaliere

Anna E. Connelly

George Iakovidis

Ang Li

Marc-André Pleier

Andrea Sciandra

Scott Snyder

Abraham Tishelman-Charny

Iza Veliscek

CERN

Michele Selvaggi

FCC feasibility studies: Impact of tracker- and calorimeter-detector performance on jet flavor identification and Higgs physics analyses

The leading and next-to-leading order QCD predictions for Higgs boson pair production at hadron colliders suffer from a significant mass renormalisation scheme uncertainty related to the choice of the top-quark mass. The functional dependence of the result on the value of the intermediate quark mass can be understood in the high-energy limit using the Method of Regions and the tools of Soft-Collinear Effective Theory. In this work, we study the origin of the sizeable logarithmic mass corrections in the $\textit{gg}$ → $\textit{HH}$ amplitudes at leading and next-to-leading power in the limit $\textit{s}$, |$\textit{t}$|, |$\textit{u}$| ≫ $$ {m}_t^2 $$ ≫ $$ {m}_H^2 $$ . We argue that the mass corrections follow a predictable factorised pattern that can be exploited to simplify their computation. We present results for the leading power leading logarithmic corrections, our analysis leads to a significant reduction in the theoretical uncertainty of the double Higgs production amplitudes at scattering energies ≳ 1 TeV due to the top-quark mass scheme.

Switzerland

Sebastian Jaskiewicz

United Kingdom

Stephen Jones

Yannick Ulrich

The structure of quark mass corrections in the $\textit{gg}$ → $\textit{HH}$ amplitude at high-energy

Muon conversion is one of the best probes of charged lepton flavor violation. The experimental limit is soon expected to improve by four orders of magnitude, thus calling for precise predictions of the shape of the signal spectrum. Equally important are precise predictions for muon decay-in-orbit, the main background for muon conversion. While the calculation of electromagnetic corrections to the two processes above the nuclear scale does not involve significant challenges, it becomes substantially more complex below that scale due to multiple scales, bound-state effects and experimental setup. Here, we present a systematic framework that addresses these challenges by resorting to a series of effective field theories. Combining Heavy Quark Effective Theory (HQET), Non-Relativistic QED (NRQED), potential NRQED, Soft-Collinear Effective Theory I and II, and boosted HQET, we derive a factorization theorem and present the renormalization group equations. Our framework allows for the proper calculation of precise predictions for the rates of the two processes, with crucial implications for the upcoming muon conversion searches. We also provide the most accurate prediction of the signal shape for those searches.

An effective field theory for muon conversion and muon decay-in-orbit

We systematically study potential effects of Beyond the Standard Model physics in the $\textit{e}$ $\textit{e}$ → $\textit{ZH}$ process. To this end, we include all relevant dimension-6 Standard Model Effective Field Theory operators and work to next-to-leading order (NLO) accuracy in the electroweak coupling. We consider both polarized and unpolarized electron and positron beams and present results for $$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 240, 365 and 500 GeV, emphasizing contributions where the NLO predictions differ significantly from the leading order results. At NLO, a sensitivity arises to operators that do not contribute at tree level, such as the Higgs tri-linear coupling, CP-violating operators, and dimension-6 operators involving the top quark, among many others. We compare the prospects of future $\textit{e}$ $\textit{e}$ colliders to explore these new physics effects with existing measurements from the LHC, electron EDMs (for CP violating operators), and Z pole measurements.

Konstantin Asteriadis

Sally Dawson

Spain

Pier Giardino

$\textit{e}$

We present results from a complete next-to-leading order (NLO) calculation of <math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow></msup><mo>→</mo><mi>Z</mi><mi>H</mi></mrow></math> in the standard model effective field theory (SMEFT) framework, including all contributions from dimension-six operators. At NLO, there are novel dependencies on CP violating parameters in the gauge sector, on modifications to the Higgs boson self-couplings, on alterations to the top quark Yukawa couplings, and on four-fermion operators involving the electron and the top quark, among others. We show that including only the logarithms resulting from renormalization group scaling can produce misleading results, and further, we explicitly demonstrate the constraining power of combining measurements from different energy scales.

Pier Paolo Giardino

Impact of Next-to-Leading-Order Weak Standard-Model-Effective-Field-Theory Corrections in <math><mrow><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo></mrow></msup><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow></msup><mo>→</mo><mi>Z</mi><mi>H</mi></mrow></math>

We investigate the collinear limit of the energy-energy correlator (EEC) in a heavy-ion context. First, we revisit the leading-logarithmic (LL) resummation of this observable in vacuum following a $\textit{diagrammatic}$ approach. We argue that this route allows to naturally incorporate medium-induced effects into the all-orders structure systematically. As an example, we show how the phase-space constraints imposed by the static medium on vacuum-like emissions can be incorporated into the LL result by modifying the anomalous dimensions. On the fixed-order side, we calculate the $$ \mathcal{O} $$ ($\textit{α}$ ) expansion of the in-medium EEC for a $\textit{γ}$ → $$ q\overline{q} $$ splitting with arbitrary kinematics including, for the first time, subleading colour corrections. When comparing this result to previously used approximations in the literature, we find up to $$ \mathcal{O} $$ (1) deviations in the regime of interest for jet quenching signatures. Energy loss effects are also quantified and further suppress the EEC at large angles. These semi-analytic studies are complemented with a phenomenological study using the jet quenching Monte Carlo JetMed. Finally, we argue that the imprint of medium-induced effects in energy-energy correlators can be enhanced by using an alternative definition that takes as input Lund primary declusterings instead of particles.

João Barata

France

Paul Caucal

Alba Soto-Ontoso

Advancing the understanding of energy-energy correlators in heavy-ion collisions

We discuss all-order factorization for the virtual Compton process at next-to-leading power (NLP) in the Λ $\textit{/Q}$ and $$ \sqrt{-t} $$ $\textit{/Q}$ expansion (twist-3), both in the double-deeply-virtual case and the single-deeply-virtual case. We use the soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) as the main theoretical tool. We conclude that collinear factorization holds in the double-deeply virtual case, where both photons are far off-shell. The agreement is found with the known results for the hard matching coefficients at leading order $$ {\alpha}_s^0 $$ , and we can therefore connect the traditional approach with SCET. In the single-deeply-virtual case, commonly called deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS), the contribution of non-target collinear regions complicates the factorization. These include momentum modes collinear to the real photon and (ultra)soft interactions between the photon-collinear and target-collinear modes. However, such contributions appear only for the transversely polarized virtual photon at the NLP accuracy and in fact it is the only NLP ~ (Λ $\textit{/Q}$) ~ ( $$ \sqrt{-t} $$ $\textit{/Q}$) contribution in that case. We therefore conclude that the DVCS amplitude for a longitudinally polarized virtual photon, where the leading power ~ (Λ $\textit{/Q}$) ~ ( $$ \sqrt{-t} $$ $\textit{/Q}$) contribution vanishes, is free of non-target collinear contributions and the collinear factorization in terms of twist-3 GPDs holds in that case as well.

Jakob Schoenleber

All order factorization for virtual Compton scattering at next-to-leading power

We study the modifications to the fragmentation pattern of partons into charged particles in the presence of a hot and dense quark gluon plasma. To this end, we analyze the perturbative renormalization group equations of the track functions, which describe the energy fraction carried by charged hadrons. Focusing on pure Yang-Mills theory, we compute the lowest-order moments of the medium-modified track functions, which are found to be sensitive to the reduced phase space for emissions in the medium and to energy loss. We use the extracted moments to calculate the energy energy correlator (EEC) on tracks in the collinear limit. The EEC on medium-evolved tracks does not differ qualitatively from the EEC on vacuum tracks despite being sensitive to the color decoherence transition and suppressing the distribution due to quenching, as seen in other jet observables.

Leading order track functions in a hot and dense QGP