Transverse momentum distributions in low-mass Drell-Yan lepton pair production at NNLO QCD

The production of lepton pairs at low invariant mass and finite transverse momentum resolves QCD dynamics at the boundary between the perturbative and non-perturbative domains. We investigate the impact of NNLO QCD corrections on these observables at energies corresponding to the BNL RHIC collider and to fixed-target experiments. Satisfactory perturbative convergence is observed in both cases. Only the collider data are found to be well-described by perturbative QCD, thus indicating the importance of non-perturbative effects in lepton-pair transverse momentum distributions at fixed target energies. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

The production of lepton pairs at low invariant mass and finite transverse momentum provides insights into QCD dynamics at the boundary between perturbative and non-perturbative regimes. The impact of NNLO QCD corrections on observables at BNL RHIC collider and fixed-target experiments is investigated, showing satisfactory perturbative convergence. Collider data is well-described by perturbative QCD, highlighting the significance of non-perturbative effects at fixed target energies in lepton-pair transverse momentum distributions.