A general algorithm to generate unweighted events for next-to-leading order calculations in electron-positron annihilation

Abstract

Given a next-to-leading order calculation, we show how to set up a computer program, which generates a sequence of unweighted momentum configurations, each configuration containing either n or n+1 four-vectors, such that for any infrared safe observable the average over these configurations coincides with the NLO calculation up to errors of order y_res. The core of the algorithm is a method to combine real emission and virtual corrections on a point-by-point basis in hard phase space. The algorithm can be implemented on top of existing NLO calculations.