J. Pumplin

New Generation of Parton Distributions with Uncertainties from Global QCD Analysis

A new generation of parton distribution functions with increased precision and quantitative estimates of uncertainties is presented. This work signiflcantly extends previous CTEQ and other global analyses on two fronts: (i) a full treatment of available experimental correlated systematic errorsforbothnewandolddata sets; (ii) asystematic and pragmatic treatment of uncertainties of the parton distributions and their physical predictions, using a recently developed eigenvector-basis approach to the hessian method. The new gluon distribution is considerably harder than that of previous standard flts. A numberofphysicsissues,particularlyrelatingtothebehaviorofthegluondistribution,are addressedinmorequantitativetermsthanbefore. Extensiveresultsontheuncertaintiesof parton distributions at various scales, and on parton luminosity functions at the Tevatron RunII and the LHC, are presented. The latter provide the means to quickly estimate the uncertainties of a wide range of physical processes at these high-energy hadron colliders, basedoncurrentknowledgeofthepartondistributions. Inparticular, theuncertaintieson the production cross sections of the W, Z at the Tevatron and the LHC are estimated to be§4% and§5%, respectively, and that of a light Higgs at the LHC to be§5%.

Global QCD analysis of parton structure of the nucleon: CTEQ5 parton distributions

Abstract. An up-to-date global QCD analysis of high energy lepton-hadron and hadron-hadron interactions is performed to better determine the gluon and quark parton distributions in the nucleon. Improved experimental data on inclusive jet production, in conjunction with precise deep inelastic scattering data, place good constraints on the gluon over a wide range of x; while new data on asymmetries in Drell-Yan processes contribute to better determine the d/u ratio. Comparisons with results of other recent global analyses are made, and the differences are described. Open issues and the general problem of determining the uncertainties of parton distributions are discussed.

Uncertainties of predictions from parton distribution functions. II. The Hessian method

We develop a general method to quantify the uncertainties of parton distribution functions and their physical predictions, with emphasis on incorporating all relevant experimental constraints. The method uses the Hessian formalism to study an effective chi-squared function that quantifies the fit between theory and experiment. Key ingredients are a recently developed iterative procedure to calculate the Hessian matrix in the difficult global analysis environment, and the use of parameters defined as components along appropriately normalized eigenvectors. The result is a set of 2D eigenvector basis parton distributions (where

Heavy Quark Mass Effects in Deep Inelastic Scattering and Global QCD Analysis

d\ensuremath{\approx}16

Charm parton content of the nucleon

is the number of parton parameters) from which the uncertainty on any physical quantity due to the uncertainty in parton distributions can be calculated. We illustrate the method by applying it to calculate uncertainties of gluon and quark distribution functions, W boson rapidity distributions, and the correlation between W and Z production cross sections.

Multivariate Fitting and the Error Matrix in Global Analysis of Data

A new implementation of the general PQCD formalism of Collins, including heavy quark mass effects, is described. Important features that contribute to the accuracy and efficiency of the calculation of both neutral current (NC) and charged current (CC) processess are explicitly discussed. This new implementation is applied to the global analysis of the full HERA I data sets on NC and CC cross sections, with correlated systematic errors, in conjunction with the usual fixed-target and hadron collider data sets. By using a variety of parametrizations to explore the parton parameter space, robust new parton distribution function (PDF) sets (CTEQ6.5) are obtained. The new quark distributions are consistently higher in the region x ~ 10−3 than previous ones, with important implications on hadron collider phenomenology, especially at the LHC. The uncertainties of the parton distributions are reassessed and are compared to the previous ones. A new set of CTEQ6.5 eigenvector PDFs that encapsulates these uncertainties is also presented.

The strange parton distribution of the nucleon: Global analysis and applications

We investigate the charm sector of the nucleon structure phenomenologically, using the most up-to-date global QCD analysis. Going beyond the common assumption of purely radiatively generated charm, we explore possible degrees of freedom in the parton parameter space associated with nonperturbative (intrinsic) charm in the nucleon. Specifically, we explore the limits that can be placed on the intrinsic charm (IC) component, using all relevant hard-scattering data, according to scenarios in which the IC has a form predicted by light-cone wave function models; or a form similar to the light sea-quark distributions. We find that the range of IC is constrained to be from zero (no IC) to a level 2-3 times larger than previous model estimates. The behaviors of typical charm distributions within this range are described, and their implications for hadron collider phenomenology are briefly discussed.

Neutrino dimuon production and the strangeness asymmetry of the nucleon

When a large body of data from diverse experiments is analyzed using a theoretical model with many parameters, the standard error-matrix method and the general tools for evaluating errors may become inadequate. We present an iterative method that significantly improves the reliability of the error matrix calculation. To obtain even better estimates of the uncertainties on predictions of physical observables, we also present a Lagrange multiplier method that explores the entire parameter space and avoids the linear approximations assumed in conventional error propagation calculations. These methods are illustrated by an example from the global analysis of parton distribution functions.

Impact of new neutrino deep inelastic scattering and Drell-Yan data on large-x parton distributions

The strangeness degrees of freedom in the parton structure of the nucleon are explored in the global analysis framework, using the new CTEQ6.5 implementation of the general mass perturbative QCD formalism of Collins. We systematically determine the constraining power of available hard scattering experimental data on the magnitude and shape of the strange quark and anti-quark parton distributions. We find that current data favor a distinct shape of the strange sea compared to the isoscalar non-strange sea. A new reference parton distribution set, CTEQ6.5S0, and representative sets spanning the allowed ranges of magnitude and shape of the strange distributions, are presented. Some applications to physical processes of current interest in hadron collider phenomenology are discussed.

A subtractive quark model of the pomeron

Abstract.We have performed the first global QCD analysis to include the CCFR and NuTeV dimuon data, which provide direct constraints on the strange and antistrange parton distributions, s(x) and