MARCH 4 THEORY GROUP SEMINAR

Jesse Thaler, University of California, Berkeley

"GenEvA: A New Framework for Event Generation"

Abstract

The LHC experimental collaborations will rely on Monte Carlo to estimate Standard Model backgrounds at 14 TeV. While in some cases these backgrounds can be measured from data, there is a wide variety of backgrounds for which some Monte Carlo information is necessary. Currently, there are two different frameworks for Monte Carlo event generation: fixed-order calculations and parton showers. Each of these frameworks are valid in different part of phase space, and in the last ten years there has been considerable effort to merge these two methods for approximating the Standard Model. We present a generic solution for how to merge fixed-order calculations with parton showers, and outline a strategy for systematically improving Standard Model background estimates in the LHC era.