Higher-order differential cross section calculation for the associated production of a W boson and jets in the electron decay channel at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in proton-proton collisions

Abstract

Higher-order cross sections for the production of a W boson in association with jets in the electron decaychannel are presented in this study. Cross sections were calculated in a fully differential way using a computational frameworkbased on proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The differential cross section predictionsin the fiducial phase-space were compared at next-to-leading order (NLO) and next-to-NLO (NNLO) in perturbativequantum chromodynamics (pQCD). The differential results are reported for the variables including the jet multiplicity,the invariant mass of the W boson, transverse momentum, the jet rapidity, and the electron pseudorapidity that aresensitive to higher-order corrections in pQCD. The presented differential cross sections were generally improved in precisionin the NNLO calculation. The total cross sections at NLO and NNLO are also reported in the fiducial phase-space.More accurate results were obtained in the calculation of the total production rates at NNLO. The results in all the calculationsare given in the W+ and the W􀀀 boson decay channels separately to better assess the impact of the inclusionof higher-order corrections in those processes.