<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>q</mml:mi> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:math> Slicing with Multiple Jets

Modern collider phenomenology requires unprecedented precision for the theoretical predictions, for which slicing techniques provide an essential tool at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong coupling. The most popular slicing variable is based on the transverse momentum q_{T} of a color-singlet final state, but its generalization to final states with jets is known to be very difficult. Here we propose two generalizations of q_{T} that can be used for jet processes, providing proof of concept with an NLO slicing for pp→2 jets. We present factorization formulas that enable our approach to NNLO, calculate the NNLO collinear-soft function, and demonstrate slicing at this order for e^{+}e^{-}→2 jets. One of these generalizations of q_{T} only applies to planar Born processes, such as pp→2 jets, but offers a dramatic simplification of the soft function. We also discuss how our approach can directly be extended to obtain predictions for the fragmentation of hadrons. This presents a promising path for high-precision QCD calculations with multijet final states.