Improving lepton-collision predictions with next-to-minimal effort: the case of VBF contributions

by Stefano Frixione (INFN)

Monday 2 Feb 2026, 14:00 → 15:00 Europe/Zurich

4/S-030 (CERN)

It is an open secret that current theoretical predictions are largely insufficient to provide us with the kind of precision tests which are necessary for successful physics programs at the next generation of lepton colliders. While generic NNLO EW results are beyond our present capabilities, I show that it is still possible to obtain NNLO-level results in certain regions of the phase space by means of a relatively simple procedure, which stems from considering underlying VBF-like contributions. In doing so, I shall also discuss why the concept of $W$ and $Z$ partons makes little sense at the collider energies likely to be attained in the next century.

mumuee.pdf