Factorization and resummation for single color-octet scalar production at the LHC

Heavy colored scalar particles appear in a variety of new physics (NP) models and could be produced at the Large Hadron Collider. Knowing the total production cross section is important for searching for these states and establishing bounds on their masses and couplings. Using soft-collinear effective theory, we derive a factorization theorem for the process pp -> SX, where S is a color-octet scalar, that is applicable to any NP model provided the dominant production mechanism is gluon-gluon fusion. The factorized result for the inclusive cross section is similar to that for the standard model Higgs production; however, differences arise due to color exchange between initial and final states. We provide formulas for the total cross section with large (partonic) threshold logarithms resummed to next-to-leading logarithm accuracy. The resulting K factors are similar to those found in Higgs production. We apply our formalism to the Manohar-Wise model and find that the next-to-leading logarithm cross section is roughly 2 times (3 times) as large as the leading order cross section for a color-octet scalar of mass of 500 GeV (3 TeV). A similar enhancement should appear in any NP model with color-octet scalars.