Next-to-Next-to-Leading Order Study of Three-Jet Production at the LHC

Multijet rates at hadron colliders provide a unique possibility for probing quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of strong interactions. By comparing theory predictions with collider data, one can directly test perturbative QCD, extract fundamental parameters like the strong coupling a s , and search for physics beyond the standard model. In this work we calculate, for the first time, the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) QCD corrections to typical three-jet observables and to differential three-to-two jet ratios. The calculation is complete apart from the three-jet double virtual contributions which are included in the leading-color approximation. We demonstrate that the inclusion of the NNLO corrections significantly reduces the dependence of those observables on the factorization and renormalization scales. Besides its phenomenological value, this proof-of-principle computation represents a milestone in perturbative QCD.

Automated summary

This study utilizes multijet rates to explore quantum chromodynamics (QCD), calculating NNLO QCD corrections for three-jet observables and three-to-two jet ratios. It demonstrates a significant reduction in the dependence of these observables on factorization and renormalization scales. This proof-of-principle computation represents a milestone in perturbative QCD.