We present a new general algorithm for calculating arbitrary jet cross sections in arbitrary scattering processes to next-to-leading accuracy in perturbative QCD. The algorithm is based on the subtraction method. The key ingredients are new factorization formulae, called dipole formulae, which implement in a Lorentz covariant way both the usual soft and collinear approximations, smoothly interpolating the two. The corresponding dipole phase space obeys exact factorization, so that the dipole contributions to the cross section can be exactly integrated analytically over the whole of phase space. We obtain explicit analytic results for any jet observable in any scattering or fragmentation process in lepton, lepton-hadron or hadron-hadron collisions. All the analytical formulae necessary to construct a numerical program for next-to-leading order QCD calculations are provided. The algorithm is straightforwardly implementable in general purpose Monte Carlo programs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.