Towards parton distribution functions with theoretical uncertainties

An important limitation in current fits of parton distribution functions (PDFs) is that PDF uncertainties do not include any source of theoretical uncertainty. Here we present a general method for incorporating theoretical uncertainties into PDF fits, focussing in particular on perturbative missing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2018-10
Main Authors: Pearson, R L, Voisey, C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Covariance matrix
Current distribution
Distribution functions
Uncertainty
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:An important limitation in current fits of parton distribution functions (PDFs) is that PDF uncertainties do not include any source of theoretical uncertainty. Here we present a general method for incorporating theoretical uncertainties into PDF fits, focussing in particular on perturbative missing higher order uncertainties (MHOUs). We consider two methods for estimating the effect of MHOUs on PDFs, both based on scale variations. Firstly, we present PDF fits based on theoretical predictions with varied scales, and use these to estimate the associated MHOUs. Secondly, we discuss the construction of a theoretical covariance matrix using scale variations, and its combination with the experimental covariance matrix currently used in PDF fits.
ISSN:2331-8422