NLO QCD corrections to pp -> t anti-t b anti-b + X at the LHC

Abstract

We report on the calculation of the full next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the production of top anti-top bottom anti-bottom (ttbb) final states at the LHC, which deliver a serious background contribution to the production of a Higgs boson (decaying into a bottom anti-bottom pair) in association with a top anti-top pair. While the corrections significantly reduce the unphysical scale dependence of the leading-order cross section, our results predict an enhancement of the ttbb production cross section by a K-factor of about 1.8.

4 pages, LaTeX, 4 postscript figures. Reference added, minor modifications. Matches published version