Conveners: Maarten Boonekamp, Daniel Britzger and Christian Schwanenberger.
Indico web page for meetings: https://indico.cern.ch/category/17309/.
Impact of LHeC data on LHC and FCC-hh physics
LHeC physics covers the strong, electroweak and Higgs sectors. Beyond its own interest, the LHeC enhances the potential of the LHC and FCC-hh through the complementarity of the ep and pp initial and final states. The aim of this Working Group is to quantify and optimize the synergy of these machines.
Precision PDFs and αS
The LHeC provides highly precise measurements of parton distribution functions (PDFs). PDFs are crucial for interpreting results from proton-proton collisions, as they describe the momentum distribution of quarks and gluons inside protons. The LHeC enables the extraction of the strong coupling constant and a complete set of PDFs with unprecedented precision. This precision enhances the accuracy of theoretical calculations for the LHC, improving the potential of precision measurements in the electroweak and Higgs sectors, and the reliability of searches for new physics.
Complementary measurements
High-energy deep inelastic scattering at the LHeC offers complementary measurements to those obtained from proton-proton collisions. For instance, the LHeC allows for precise studies of Higgs boson decays to bottom and charm quarks, which are challenging to measure in the high-background environment of the LHC. Additionally, the LHeC can experimentally separate the WW- and ZZ-fusion processes, constraining interactions between vector bosons as well as their couplings to the Higgs boson. The joint interpretation of LHeC and LHC/FCC-hh data offers a precise and complete landscape of Higgs-boson properties and of electroweak interactions.
Improved Monte Carlo event generators
The LHeC guides the development of Monte Carlo event generators, which are essential tools for simulating particle collisions. By providing constraints on parton shower models or QCD initial-state radiation effects, the LHeC helps refine these simulations, leading to more accurate modeling of complex processes, benefiting the interpretation of ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb data.
