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PDF issues for Monte Carlo generators

PDF issues for Monte Carlo generators. Peter Richardson IPPP, Durham University. Outline. Introduction LO or NLO Heavy Quarks PDF Errors Conclusions. A Monte Carlo Event. Hard Perturbative scattering: Usually calculated at leading order in QCD, electroweak theory or some BSM model.

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PDF issues for Monte Carlo generators

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  1. PDF issues for Monte Carlo generators Peter Richardson IPPP, Durham University Tools08 1st July

  2. Outline • Introduction • LO or NLO • Heavy Quarks • PDF Errors • Conclusions Tools08 1st July

  3. A Monte Carlo Event Hard Perturbative scattering: Usually calculated at leading order in QCD, electroweak theory or some BSM model. Modelling of the soft underlying event Multiple perturbative scattering. Perturbative Decays calculated in QCD, EW or some BSM theory. Initial and Final State parton showers resum the large QCD logs. Finally the unstable hadrons are decayed. Non-perturbative modelling of the hadronization process. Tools08 1st July

  4. Introduction • Monte Carlo event generators used PDFs for three things: • calculation of the hard process; • guiding the backward evolution in initial-state radiation; • generating additional scatterings in the multiple-parton interaction model. • There are issues about the PDFs we use for all of these stages. Tools08 1st July

  5. Hard Process • The calculation of the hard process is the theoretically cleanest use we make of the PDFs. • The major question is whether to use leading or next-to-leading order PDFs: • Most processes in the event generators are only available at leading order, so to be consistent should use leading order PDFs; • An increasing number of processes are now available at NLO, MUST use an NLO PDF for the hard process at least. Tools08 1st July

  6. Parton Shower • Formally the backward shower algorithm is equivalent to starting with the PDF at a low scale and generating the PDF using a forward evolution algorithm. • However various cut-offs in the parton shower and different mass treatments can lead to inconsistencies. • A major problem if NLO PDFs are used as the algorithm is LO. • Need to use LO PDFs. Tools08 1st July

  7. Multiple Interactions • In generating additional scatterings we should be using PDFs for extracting two or more partons from the proton. • As these are not available we are forced to use the inclusive PDF and model the effect of removing more than one parton. • As the matrix elements we use for the additional scatterings are leading order need to use leading order PDFs. Tools08 1st July

  8. Speed is important Tools08 1st July

  9. Which PDF to Use? • The general view in the MC community is that we should use: • LO PDFs for LO hard processes, the shower and underlying event; • NLO PDFs for NLO hard processes. • LO* and LO** seem are a good choice at LO accuracy to improve the results and make the PDF and shower evolution similar. • Issues when we have an NLO hard process about which PDFs to use for the shower. Tools08 1st July

  10. Heavy Quarks HERWIG • One area where the differences in the shower and PDF evolutions is largest is for the backward evolution of heavy quarks. • Expect bottom to backward evolve to a gluon. • If this doesn’t happen perturbatively has to be forced non-perturbatively. PYTHIA Single Top Aioli et al 0907.4076 Tools08 1st July

  11. Heavy Quarks • Look at different treatments by forcing the backward evolution of the bottom quark to a gluon perturbatively. • Work by Deak and Seymour to use a different evolution variable in Herwig++ for this branching as shouldn’t be angular ordered. Tools08 1st July

  12. PDF Errors • There is an increasing focus on the PDF uncertainty. • However when running Monte Carlo event generators there are many other uncertainties from other parameters. • Its worrying that we hear so much about one source of uncertainty to the exclusion of many others which are probably larger. Tools08 1st July

  13. Monte Carlo Uncertainties Tools08 1st July

  14. Summary • Important that the PDFs are used consistently, LO with LO matrix elements and NLO with NLO matrix elements. • Some issues for showering if start from an NLO matrix element. • More work needed to match the backward evolution of heavy quarks to the treatment in the PDFs. • Shouldn’t become too focused on the PDF uncertainty as the only source of errors in the Monte Carlo event generators. Tools08 1st July

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