FEWZ 2.0: A code for hadronic Z production at next-to-next-to-leading order

We introduce an improved version of the simulation code FEWZ (Fully Exclusive W and Z Production) for hadron collider production of lepton pairs through the Drell-Yan process at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong coupling constant. The program is fully differential in the phase space of leptons and additional hadronic radiation. The new version offers users significantly more options for customization. FEWZ now bins multiple, user-selectable histograms during a single run, and produces parton distribution function (PDF) errors automatically. It also features a significantly improved integration routine, and can take advantage of multiple processor cores locally or on the Condor distributed computing system. We illustrate the new features of FEWZ by presenting numerous phenomenological results for LHC physics. We compare NNLO QCD with initial ATLAS and CMS results, and discuss in detail the effects of detector acceptance on the measurement of angular quantities associated with Z-boson production. We address the issue of technical precision in the presence of severe phase-space cuts. Program summary Program title: FEWZ Catalogue identifier: AEJP_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEJP_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library. Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 6 280 771 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1 73 027 645 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Fortran 77, C++, Python Computer: Mac, PC Operating system: Mac OSX. Unix/Linux Has the code been vectorized or parallelized?: Yes. User-selectable. 1 to 219 RAM: 200 Mbytes for common parton distribution functions Classification: 11.1 External routines: CUBA numerical integration library, numerous parton distribution sets (see text): these are provided with the code. Nature of problem: Determination of the Drell-Yan Z/photon production cross section and decay into leptons, with kinematic distributions of leptons and jets including full spin correlations, at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant. Solution method: Virtual loop integrals are decomposed into master integrals using automated techniques. Singularities are extracted from real radiation terms via sector decomposition, which separates singularities and maps onto suitable phase space variables. Result is convoluted with parton distribution functions. Each piece is numerically integrated over phase space, which allows arbitrary cuts on the observed particles. Each sample point may be binned during numerical integration, providing histograms, and reweighted by parton distribution function error eigenvectors, which provides PDF errors. Restrictions: Output does not correspond to unweighted events, and cannot be interfaced with a shower Monte Carlo. Additional comments: !!!!! The distribution file for this program is over 170 Mbytes and therefore is not delivered directly when download or E-mail is requested. Instead a html file giving details of how the program can be obtained is sent. Running time: One day for total cross sections with 0.1% integration errors assuming typical cuts. up to 1 week for smooth kinematic distributions with sub-percent integration errors for each bin. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.