Effects of QCD radiation on inclusive variables for determining the scale of new physics at hadron colliders.

Abstract

We examine the effects of QCD initial-state radiation on a class of quantities, designed to probe the mass scale of new physics at hadron colliders, which involve longitudinal as well as transverse final-state momenta. In particular, we derive universal functions that relate the invariant mass and energy distribution of the visible part of the final state to that of the underlying hard subprocess. Knowledge of this relationship may assist in checking hypotheses about new processes, by providing additional information about their scales. We compare our results with those of Monte Carlo studies and find good general agreement.