Extraction of the proton parton density functions using a NLO-QCD fit of the combined H1 and ZEUS inclusive DIS cross sections

Abstract

The combined HERA-I data set, of neutral and charged current inclusive cross-sections for $e^+p$ and $e^-p$ scattering, is used as the sole input for a next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD parton distribution function (PDF) fit. The consistent treatment of systematic uncertainties in the joint data set ensures that experimental uncertainties on the PDFs can be calculated without need for an increased $\chi^2$ tolerance. This results in PDFs with greatly reduced experimental uncertainties compared to the separate analyses of the ZEUS and H1 experiments. Model uncertainties, including those arising from parametrization dependence, are also carefully considered. The resulting HERAPDFs have impressive precision compared to the global fits.