EFT observable stability under NLO corrections through interference revival

Abstract

We illustrate the importance of interference revival, when higher-order corrections are included, by presenting LO and NLO differential cross sections and $K$-factors for three processes that are sensitive to the dimension-6 SMEFT operator $O_W$ : $Z$-plus-two-jets ($Zjj$) through VBF, leptonic diboson $WZ$ and $W\gamma$ production. We show how lifting the interference suppression at LO, through suitable variables and cuts, is necessary to get reliable predictions at NLO. We also present bounds on $C_W /\Lambda^2$ obtained from these observables