Automation of NLO QCD and EW corrections with Sherpa and Recola

This publication presents the combination of the one-loop matrix-element generator Recola with the multipurpose Monte Carlo program Sherpa . Since both programs are highly automated, the resulting Sherpa + Recola framework allows for the computation of – in principle – any Standard Model process at both NLO QCD and EW accuracy. To illustrate this, three representative LHC processes have been computed at NLO QCD and EW: vector-boson production in association with jets, off-shell Z -boson pair production, and the production of a top-quark pair in association with a Higgs boson. In addition to fixed-order computations, when considering QCD corrections, all functionalities of Sherpa , i.e. particle decays, QCD parton showers, hadronisation, underlying events, etc. can be used in combination with Recola . This is demonstrated by the merging and matching of one-loop QCD matrix elements for Drell–Yan production in association with jets to the parton shower. The implementation is fully automatised, thus making it a perfect tool for both experimentalists and theorists who want to use state-of-the-art predictions at NLO accuracy.