Specialized minimal PDFs for optimized LHC calculations

We present a methodology for the construction of parton distribution functions (PDFs) designed to provide an accurate representation of PDF uncertainties for specific processes or classes of processes with a minimal number of PDF error sets: specialized minimal PDF sets, or SM-PDFs. We construct these SM-PDFs in such a way that sets corresponding to different input processes can be combined without losing information, specifically as regards their correlations, and that they are robust upon smooth variations of the kinematic cuts. The proposed strategy never discards information, so that the SM-PDF sets can be enlarged by the addition of new processes, until the prior PDF set is eventually recovered for a large enough set of processes. We illustrate the method by producing SM-PDFs tailored to Higgs, top-quark pair, and electroweak gauge boson physics, and we determine that, when the PDF4LHC15 combined set is used as the prior, around 11, 4, and 11 Hessian eigenvectors, respectively, are enough to fully describe the corresponding processes.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields

• Publication date

  2016-01-29

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Physics

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4042-8arXiv 1602.00005PMID 28260973PMCID 5312169
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• Using the PDF4LHC15 combined set as the prior, about 11, 4, and 11 Hessian eigenvectors are sufficient for Higgs, top-quark pair, and electroweak gauge boson physics, respectively.

  Confidence 0.98

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• The method is designed to remain stable under smooth changes in kinematic cuts and to keep all information so that adding new processes can enlarge the set until the prior PDF set is recovered.

  Confidence 0.93

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• The construction lets PDF sets associated with different input processes be combined while retaining their correlations.

  Confidence 0.94

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• Specialized minimal PDF sets are constructed to represent PDF uncertainties for specific processes or classes of processes with a minimal number of error sets.

  Confidence 0.97

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review

• correlations

  statistical concept

  The shared dependence between PDF determinations for different processes that the construction aims to preserve.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• electroweak gauge boson physics

  process, application domain

  Electroweak vector-boson process classes used as a target application for the specialized PDF construction.

  Aliases: gauge boson physics

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• hessian eigenvector

  parameter direction, representation

  An orthogonal uncertainty direction in Hessian PDF representations, counted here to quantify the size of the minimal set.

  Aliases: Hessian eigenvectors

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• higgs physics

  process, application domain

  The Higgs-boson process class used as one of the target applications for the specialized PDF construction.

  Aliases: Higgs

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• kinematic cuts

  selection criterion, analysis setting

  Selection criteria on event kinematics that define the phase-space region used in the PDF construction.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• pdf4lhc15 combined set

  resource, reference set

  The combined PDF set used here as the prior reference for constructing the specialized minimal sets.

  Aliases: PDF4LHC15

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• pdf uncertainty

  uncertainty, quantity

  The uncertainty in physical predictions that comes from the parton distribution functions used in the calculation.

  Aliases: PDF uncertainties

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• prior pdf set

  resource, reference set

  The original PDF set used as the starting reference from which specialized minimal sets are derived.

  Aliases: prior set

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• specialized minimal pdf set

  method, resource

  A reduced PDF error-set representation tailored to a specific process or class of processes.

  Aliases: SM-PDF, SM-PDFs

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review
• top-quark pair physics

  process, application domain

  Top-quark pair production processes used as a target application for the specialized PDF construction.

  Aliases: top pair physics, ttbar physics

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extractionB (s683577b42) reviewAnonymous (12632b8b5f) review

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