Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to pp --> b b_bar b b_bar + X at the LHC: the quark induced case

The production of two b-quark pairs is a prominent background for Higgs and New Physics searches in various extensions of the Standard Model. We present here the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the quark induced subprocess using the GOLEM approach for the virtual corrections. We show that our result considerably improves the prediction and conclude that the inclusion of next-to-leading order effects is indispensable for reliable studies of four b-quark observables in hadronic collisions.

Precise predictions for LHC using a GOLEM

In this talk we present recent next-to-leading order results relevant for LHC phenomenology obtained with the GOLEM method. After reviewing the status of this Feynman diagrammatic approach for multi-leg one-loop calculations we discuss three applications: the loop-induced process gg -> Z^*Z^* and the virtual corrections to the five and six point processes qq -> ZZg and u ubar -> s sbar c cbar. We demonstrate that our method leads to representations of such amplitudes which allow for efficient phase space integration. In this context we propose a reweighting technique of the leading order unweighted events by local K-factors.