NNLL threshold resummation for top-pair and single-top production

Abstract

I discuss threshold resummation at NNLL accuracy in the standard moment-space approach in perturbative QCD for top-pair and single-top production. For top quark pair production I present new approximate NNLO results for the total cross section and for the top quark transverse momentum and rapidity distributions at 8 TeV LHC energy. I discuss the accuracy of the soft-gluon approximation and show that the NLO and NNLO approximate results from resummation are practically indistinguishable from exact NLO and partial NNLO results. For single top production I present new approximate NNLO results for the total cross sections in all three channels at the LHC and also for the top quark transverse momentum distributions in t-channel production and in top-quark associated production with a W boson. For both ttbar and single-top production the agreement of theoretical results with LHC and Tevatron data is excellent.

Comments: 13 pages, 6 figures; invited paper for a special issue on "Path Dependence" in Particles and Nuclei; v2 has two new plots and added text