Particle theory

Abstract:

We have shown (Colin et al. 2019) that the acceleration of the Hubble expansion rate inferred from Type Ia supernovae is essentially a dipole with 3.9$\sigma$ significance, approximately aligned with the CMB dipole, while its monopole component which may be interpreted as due to a Cosmological Constant (or more generally dark energy) is consistent with zero at 1.4$\sigma$. This is challenged by Rubin & Heitlauf (2019) who assert that we incorrectly assumed the supernova light-curve parameters to be independent of redshift, and erred further in considering their measured redshifts (in the heliocentric frame) rather than transforming them to the CMB frame (in which the universe supposedly looks isotropic). We emphasize that our procedure is justified and that their criticism serves only to highlight the rather "arbitrary corrections" that are made to the data in order to infer isotropic cosmic acceleration. This is a vivid illustration of the 'Cosmological Fitting Problem' faced by observers who live in an inhomogeneous universe but still use the maximally symmetric FLRW cosmolgy to interpret observations.

Abstract:

Theoretical predictions for tt¯bb¯¯ production are of crucial importance for tt¯ H measurements in the H → b b¯¯ channel at the LHC. To address the large uncertainties associated with the modelling of extra QCD radiation in tt¯ bb¯¯ events, in this paper we present a calculation of pp → tt¯ bb¯¯ j at NLO QCD. The behaviour of NLO corrections is analysed in a variety of observables, and to assess theoretical uncertainties we use factor- two rescalings as well as different dynamic scales. In this context, we propose a systematic alignment of dynamic scales that makes it possible to disentangle normalisation and shape uncertainties in a transparent way. Scale uncertainties at NLO are typically at the level of 20–30% in integrated cross sections, and below 10% for the shapes of distributions. The kinematics of QCD radiation is investigated in detail, including the effects of its recoil on the objects of the tt¯ bb¯¯ system. In particular, we discuss various azimuthal correlations that allow one to characterise the QCD recoil pattern in a precise and transparent way. In general, the calculation at hand provides a variety of precise benchmarks that can be used to validate the modelling of QCD radiation in tt¯bb¯¯ generators. Moreover, as we will argue, pp → tt¯bb¯¯ j at NLO entails information that can be used to gain insights into the perturbative convergence of the inclusive tt¯bb¯¯ cross section beyond NLO. Based on this idea, we address the issue of the large NLO K-factor observed in σtt¯bb¯, and we provide evidence that supports the reduction of this K-factor through a mild adjustment of the QCD scales that are conventionally used for this process. The presented 2 → 5 NLO calculations have been carried out using OpenLoops 2 in combination with Sherpa and Munich.