English

Heavy-quark parton distribution functions and their uncertainties

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2008-11-26 v1 High Energy Physics - Experiment

Abstract

We investigate the uncertainties of the heavy-quark parton distribution functions in the variable flavor number scheme. Because the charm- and bottom-quark parton distribution functions (PDFs) are constructed predominantly from the gluon PDF, it is a common practice to assume that the heavy-quark and gluon uncertainties are the same. We show that this approximation is a reasonable first guess, but it is better for bottom quarks than charm quarks. We calculate the PDF uncertainty for t-channel single-top-quark production using the Hessian matrix method, and predict a cross section of 2.12+0.32-0.29 pb at run II of the Tevatron.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.hep-ph/0111358,
  title  = {Heavy-quark parton distribution functions and their uncertainties},
  author = {Z. Sullivan and P. M. Nadolsky},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-ph/0111358},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

3 pgs, 3 ps figs.; Submitted to the Proceedings of ``The Future of Particle Physics'', Snowmass 2001, P5 group