Project description
Pioneering predictive models of top-pair production support future experiments
The upcoming Large Hadron Collider (LHC) upgrade will enable measurements of unprecedented precision, demanding equally precise theoretical predictions to extract meaningful results. A key target is the top quark – the heaviest known elementary particle – that can only be produced in pairs, either through the strong interaction (quantum chromodynamics) or in high-energy particle accelerators like the LHC. Its mass critically influences other standard model parameters yet remains imprecisely defined. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the TOPGUN3 project aims to develop new mathematical methods to access computational accuracy currently beyond reach. It will advance perturbative quantum field theory and maximise the discovery potential of next-generation collider experiments.
Objective
The forthcoming High-Luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) will deliver percent-level precision across a wide range of observables, requiring equally accurate theoretical predictions. For several key processes, this demands next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) accuracy in quantum chromodynamics (QCD).
TOPGUN3 focuses on top-quark pair production, the dominant source of top quarks at the LHC and the main channel for determining the top-quark mass. As the heaviest known particle, the top quark strongly affects the precision of Standard Model (SM) observables and the stability of the electroweak vacuum, yet its mass remains one of the least precisely known SM parameters due to theoretical uncertainties. Achieving N3LO accuracy is therefore essential to refine the top-quark mass determination and fully exploit the HL-LHC’s discovery potential.
The project’s goal is the computation of the required three-loop amplitudes within the leading-color approximation, one of the main bottlenecks to N3LO precision. This computation goes beyond the current frontier. The presence of top quarks in both the final state and loop propagators greatly increases the complexity of the amplitudes, turning their reduction to a minimal set of Feynman integrals (FIs) with rational coefficients into a major obstacle, and gives rise to FIs involving special functions beyond multiple polylogarithms, whose evaluation is challenging.
To address these challenges, I will develop a new reduction package by combining and extending cutting-edge reduction methods, such as syzygy techniques and transverse integration identities. The resulting FIs will be evaluated by employing and improving advanced methods to construct optimized differential equations and solve them through generalized series expansions.
The success of this project will advance computations in perturbative quantum field theory and pave the way for tackling a broad range of phenomenologically relevant processes.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics particle accelerator
- natural sciences physical sciences quantum physics quantum field theory
- natural sciences computer and information sciences computational science
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics quarks
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics mathematical analysis differential equations partial differential equations
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
80333 Muenchen
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.