Resummed azimuthal decorrelation and transverse momentum imbalance of dijets at the LHC

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of the azimuthal decorrelation $\delta\phi$ and transverse momentum imbalance $q_T$ in dijet production at the LHC, offering intriguing insights into the dynamics of quantum chromodynamics. We define the jet axes using the recoil-free winner-take-all (WTA) recombination scheme. For the azimuthal decorrelation $\delta\phi$, this axis choice eliminates non-global logarithms (NGLs) entirely. For the transverse momentum imbalance $q_T$, NGLs emerge specifically in the small jet radius limit ($R \ll 1$). In this regime, the WTA scheme simplifies the theoretical framework by restricting jet radius logarithms to the soft sector. We derive factorization formulae for both observables within soft-collinear effective theory. To address the small-$R$ NGLs in the $q_T$ distribution, we refactorize the soft function into global soft, collinear-soft, and ultra-collinear-soft modes. We perform the resummation of global large logarithms $\ln(\delta\phi)$ and $\ln(q_T/Q)$ up to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. For the $q_T$ distribution, this is combined with a leading-logarithmic resummation of the non-global $\ln R$ terms. We match our predictions to leading fixed-order $O(\alpha_s^3)$ calculations. We also numerically investigate the structure of the first subleading power corrections. Comparisons with PYTHIA8 simulations demonstrate that the observables we consider are robust against non-perturbative multi-parton interactions and hadronization effects.