# Issues on NLO pQCD Programs

## 1 Features of NLO pQCD Programs

During the last few years four multi-purpose pQCD calculation programs for the HERA DIS processes have become available, Mepjet, Disent, Disaster++, and JETVIP. Their main features are given in table 1. The most important difference is the method used to handle cancelations of singularities in real and virtual corrections. On the one hand, the phase space slicing method integrates analytically in regions of invariant masses lower than an extremly small cut-off parameter $`s_{\mathrm{min}}`$. On the other hand, the subtraction method uses the “plus” prescription to calculate a counter term, that is subtracted from the divergent distributions. For several features, e.g. mass treatment and the contribution of resolved and electroweak processes, only one program is available; therefore cross checks of results, where these corrections get important, are impossible.

## 2 Comment on DiJet cuts

Using dijet measurements several QCD tests and parameter extractions have been performed by the HERA experiments. NLO pQCD programs are important tools needed for this task, but the measurements nowadays tend to enter regions where pQCD alone is not able to describe the data, e.g. in the transition region from photoproduction to DIS, where resolved processes become important. In those regions it is all the more important to have reliable NLO predictions.

An important restriction for cuts on dijet photoproduction calculations was pointed out some time ago by Frixione and Ridolfi.

The same arguments also hold for DIS processes. In figure 1a) the NLO prediction of the double differential cross section in transverse momenta of both jets in the Breit frame is shown. The jets were found using the longitudinal boost invariant $`k_t`$ algorithm. For the LO contributions the jet $`p_t`$ are balanced. The same is true for the virtual corrections and this leads to large corrections on the diagonal, which are known to be negative. The real corrections, canceling the virtual divergences, introduce differences in the jet $`p_t.`$ After imposing a cut of $`p_{t,\text{lower}}>5\text{GeV}`$ for both jets, figure 1b) shows the integrated cross section as a function of the highest jet $`p_t.`$ This plot clearly shows, that the NLO prediction breaks down at a $`p_{t,\text{higher}}`$ cut of approximately $`6\text{GeV},`$ since lowering the $`p_t`$ cuts and thus enlarging the allowed phase space leads to a reduced NLO prediction.

A possible solution is to introduce an asymmetric cut, where the difference of the cut values ensures, that the NLO prediction is on the falling edge of the distribution of figure 1b). A different Ansatz is to make a symmetric cut and an additional cut on the sum of the jet $`p_t`$ values, e.g. $`_{1,2}p_{t,i}>17\text{GeV}.`$ This cut removes the main negative contribution in the lower left corner of figure 1a) and ensures, that the cancelation of singularities takes place.

## 3 Conclusions

An overview of features currently available in NLO pQCD programs for HERA deep inelastic scattering processes has been given. In addition a special issue on jet cuts for dijet production has been pointed out demonstrating, that asking for a symmetric minimal $`p_t`$ on both jets leads to unreliable NLO predictions. Two alternative scenarios are given, that produce reasonable results.

I would like to thank R. Devenish, W.J. Stirling, and M.R. Whalley for organising this interesting and fruitful workshop and J. Butterworth, M.H. Seymour, and G. Thompson for the kind invitation. Special thanks goes to Ch. Berger and S.J. Maxfield for proofreading and commenting on this contribution.    

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