Next to leading order predictions for pi_0 gamma and pi_0 pi_0 production at the LHC

Abstract

The precise knowledge of photon pair production rates at the LHC is crucial to estimate the sensitivity to a Higgs boson in the intermediate mass range. This background consists not only of prompt photons but also of fake photons stemming from pion decay. We present next to leading order predictions for the invariant mass distributions of pion photon and pion pairs.

4 pages, latex (uses Moriond style file), 2 eps-figures included. Talk presented at 36th Rencontres de Moriond: QCD and High Energy Hadronic Interactions, Les Arcs, Savoie, France, 17-24 March 2001