Accurate predictions for the production of heavy particles at the Large Hadron Collider

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The proposal involves making precise predictions for the outcome of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. Specifically, it involves constructing a simulation of the production of pairs of heavy particles called top-quarks, at state-of-the-art accuracy. Accurate predictions for processes such as this are needed in order to compare our best theories of nature with experimental results. This will allow any deviations from the known physics of the Standard Model (SM) to be detected and potentially allow new particles to be identified. It will also allow properties of the SM to be measured with increased precision. The top-quark is particularly important, since it couples strongly to the Higgs boson - it therefore provides a route to exploring the Higgs sector. In addition, the top-quark and the Higgs boson together play important roles in determining the stability of our universe.The objectives of the proposal are broadly to create flexible tools which can provide predictions at state-of-the-art accuracy for processes involving top-quarks at the LHC. This involves writing computer programs called event generators, which can simulate the outcomes of proton collisions. The proposed action will first consider the case in which a pair of top-quarks are produced in the collision. The resulting simulations will then be used to extract important SM properties, such as the top-quark mass and the strong coupling constant. The action will then consider the more complicated case in which a pair of top-quarks are produced alongside another particle such as a Higgs boson.The outcome of the project will be a set of publicly available tools to produce precision simulations of these processes. These will be used by other researchers working in particle theory and experiment in order to make comparison with data, constrain possibleBeyond the Standard Model theories and, hopefully, discover signs of new physics.