Publications by Gavin Salam

The Lund Jet Plane

Journal of High Energy Physics Springer Verlag (Germany) (0)

FA Dreyer, GP Salam, G Soyez

Lund diagrams, a theoretical representation of the phase space within jets, have long been used in discussing parton showers and resummations. We point out that they can be created for individual jets through repeated Cambridge/Aachen declustering, providing a powerful visual representation of the radiation within any given jet. Concentrating here on the primary Lund plane, we outline some of its analytical properties, highlight its scope for constraining Monte Carlo simulations and comment on its relation with existing observables such as the $z_g$ variable and the iterated soft-drop multiplicity. We then examine its use for boosted electroweak boson tagging at high momenta. It provides good performance when used as an input to machine learning. Much of this performance can be reproduced also within a transparent log-likelihood method, whose underlying assumption is that different regions of the primary Lund plane are largely decorrelated. This suggests a potential for unique insight and experimental validation of the features being used by machine-learning approaches.

Proceedings of the workshop: HERA and the LHC workshop series on the implications of HERA for LHC physics

ArXiv (0)

2nd workshop on the implications of HERA for LHC physics. Working groups: Parton Density Functions Multi-jet final states and energy flows Heavy quarks (charm and beauty) Diffraction Cosmic Rays Monte Carlos and Tools

HERA and the LHC - A workshop on the implications of HERA for LHC physics: Proceedings - Part A

ArXiv (0)

S Alekhin, G Altarelli, N Amapane, J Andersen, V Andreev, M Arneodo, V Avati, J Baines, RD Ball, A Banfi, SP Baranov, J Bartels, O Behnke, R Bellan, J Blumlein, H Bottcher, S Bolognesi, M Boonekamp, D Bourilkov, J Bracinik, A Bruni, G Bruni, A Buckley, A Bunyatyan, CM Buttar, JM Butterworth, S Butterworth, M Cacciari, T Carli, G Cerminara, S Chekanov, M Ciafaloni, D Colferai, J Collins, A Cooper-Sarkar, G Corcella, M Corradi, BE Cox, R Croft, Z Czyczula, A Dainese, M Dasgupta, G Davatz, LD Debbio, Y Delenda, AD Roeck, M Diehl, S Diglio, G Dissertori, M Dittmar, J Ellis, KJ Eskola, TO Eynck, J Feltesse, F Ferro, RD Field, J Forshaw, S Forte, A Geiser, S Gieseke, A Glazov, T Gleisberg, P Golonka, E Gotsman, G Grindhammer, M Grothe, C Group, M Groys, A Guffanti, G Gustafson, C Gwenlan, S Hoche, C Hogg, J Huston, G Iacobucci, G Ingelman, S Jadach, H Jung, J Kalliopuska, M Kapishin, B Kersevan, V Khoze, M Klasen, M Klein, BA Kniehl, VJ Kolhinen, H Kowalski, G Kramer, F Krauss, S Kretzer, K Kutak, JW Lamsa, L Lonnblad, T Lastovicka, G Lastovicka-Medin, E Laenen, T Lagouri, JI Latorre, N Lavesson, V Lendermann, E Levin, A Levy, AV Lipatov, M Lublinsky, L Lytkin, T Maki, L Magnea, F Maltoni, M Mangano, U Maor, C Mariotti, N Marola, AD Martin, A Meyer, S Moch, J Monk, A Moraes, A Morsch, L Motyka, E Naftali, P Newman, A Nikitenko, F Oljemark, R Orava, M Ottela, K Osterberg, K Peters, F Petrucci, A Piccione, A Pilkington, K Piotrzkowski, OI Piskounova, A Proskuryakov, A Prygarin, J Pumplin, K Rabbertz, R Ranieri, V Ravindran, B Reisert, E Richter-Was, L Rinaldi, P Robbe, E Rodrigues, J Rojo, H Ruiz, M Ruspa, MG Ryskin, AS Vera, GP Salam, A Schalicke, S Schatzel, T Schorner-Sadenius, I Schienbein, F-P Schilling, S Schumann, MH Seymour, F Siegert, T Sjostrand, M Skrzypek, J Smith, M Smizanska, H Spiesberger, F Schrempp, A Stasto, H Stenzel, WJ Stirling, P Szczypka, S Tapprogge, C Targett-Adams, M Tasevsky, T Teubner, RS Thorne, A Tonazzo, A Tricoli, N Tuning, J Turnau, U Uwer, PV Mechelen, R Venugopalan, M Verducci, JAM Vermaseren, A Vogt, R Vogt, BFL Ward, Z Was, G Watt, BM Waugh, C Weiser, MR Whalley, M Wing, J Winter, SA Yost, G Zanderighi, NP Zotov

The HERA electron--proton collider has collected 100 pb$^{-1}$ of data since its start-up in 1992, and recently moved into a high-luminosity operation mode, with upgraded detectors, aiming to increase the total integrated luminosity per experiment to more than 500 pb$^{-1}$. HERA has been a machine of excellence for the study of QCD and the structure of the proton. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will collide protons with a centre-of-mass energy of 14 TeV, will be completed at CERN in 2007. The main mission of the LHC is to discover and study the mechanisms of electroweak symmetry breaking, possibly via the discovery of the Higgs particle, and search for new physics in the TeV energy scale, such as supersymmetry or extra dimensions. Besides these goals, the LHC will also make a substantial number of precision measurements and will offer a new regime to study the strong force via perturbative QCD processes and diffraction. For the full LHC physics programme a good understanding of QCD phenomena and the structure function of the proton is essential. Therefore, in March 2004, a one-year-long workshop started to study the implications of HERA on LHC physics. This included proposing new measurements to be made at HERA, extracting the maximum information from the available data, and developing/improving the theoretical and experimental tools. This report summarizes the results achieved during this workshop.

HERA and the LHC - A workshop on the implications of HERA for LHC physics: Proceedings - Part B

ArXiv (0)

S Alekhin, G Altarelli, N Amapane, J Andersen, V Andreev, M Arneodo, V Avati, J Baines, RD Ball, A Banfi, SP Baranov, J Bartels, O Behnke, R Bellan, J Blumlein, H Bottcher, S Bolognesi, M Boonekamp, D Bourilkov, J Bracinik, A Bruni, G Bruni, A Buckley, A Bunyatyan, CM Buttar, JM Butterworth, S Butterworth, M Cacciari, T Carli, G Cerminara, S Chekanov, M Ciafaloni, D Colferai, J Collins, A Cooper-Sarkar, G Corcella, M Corradi, BE Cox, R Croft, Z Czyczula, A Dainese, M Dasgupta, G Davatz, LD Debbio, Y Delenda, AD Roeck, M Diehl, S Diglio, G Dissertori, M Dittmar, J Ellis, KJ Eskola, TO Eynck, J Feltesse, F Ferro, RD Field, J Forshaw, S Forte, A Geiser, S Gieseke, A Glazov, T Gleisberg, P Golonka, E Gotsman, G Grindhammer, M Grothe, C Group, M Groys, A Guffanti, G Gustafson, C Gwenlan, S Hoche, C Hogg, J Huston, G Iacobucci, G Ingelman, S Jadach, H Jung, J Kalliopuska, M Kapishin, B Kersevan, V Khoze, M Klasen, M Klein, BA Kniehl, VJ Kolhinen, H Kowalski, G Kramer, F Krauss, S Kretzer, K Kutak, JW Lamsa, L Lonnblad, T Lastovicka, G Lastovicka-Medin, E Laenen, T Lagouri, JI Latorre, N Lavesson, V Lendermann, E Levin, A Levy, AV Lipatov, M Lublinsky, L Lytkin, T Maki, L Magnea, F Maltoni, M Mangano, U Maor, C Mariotti, N Marola, AD Martin, A Meyer, S Moch, J Monk, A Moraes, A Morsch, L Motyka, E Naftali, P Newman, A Nikitenko, F Oljemark, R Orava, M Ottela, K Osterberg, K Peters, F Petrucci, A Piccione, A Pilkington, K Piotrzkowski, OI Piskounova, A Proskuryakov, A Prygarin, J Pumplin, K Rabbertz, R Ranieri, V Ravindran, B Reisert, E Richter-Was, L Rinaldi, P Robbe, E Rodrigues, J Rojo, H Ruiz, M Ruspa, MG Ryskin, AS Vera, GP Salam, A Schalicke, S Schatzel, T Schorner-Sadenius, I Schienbein, F-P Schilling, S Schumann, MH Seymour, F Siegert, T Sjostrand, M Skrzypek, J Smith, M Smizanska, H Spiesberger, F Schrempp, A Stasto, H Stenzel, WJ Stirling, P Szczypka, S Tapprogge, C Targett-Adams, M Tasevsky, T Teubner, RS Thorne, A Tonazzo, A Tricoli, N Tuning, J Turnau, U Uwer, PV Mechelen, R Venugopalan, M Verducci, JAM Vermaseren, A Vogt, R Vogt, BFL Ward, Z Was, G Watt, BM Waugh, C Weiser, MR Whalley, M Wing, J Winter, SA Yost, G Zanderighi, NP Zotov

The HERA electron--proton collider has collected 100 pb$^{-1}$ of data since its start-up in 1992, and recently moved into a high-luminosity operation mode, with upgraded detectors, aiming to increase the total integrated luminosity per experiment to more than 500 pb$^{-1}$. HERA has been a machine of excellence for the study of QCD and the structure of the proton. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will collide protons with a centre-of-mass energy of 14 TeV, will be completed at CERN in 2007. The main mission of the LHC is to discover and study the mechanisms of electroweak symmetry breaking, possibly via the discovery of the Higgs particle, and search for new physics in the TeV energy scale, such as supersymmetry or extra dimensions. Besides these goals, the LHC will also make a substantial number of precision measurements and will offer a new regime to study the strong force via perturbative QCD processes and diffraction. For the full LHC physics programme a good understanding of QCD phenomena and the structure function of the proton is essential. Therefore, in March 2004, a one-year-long workshop started to study the implications of HERA on LHC physics. This included proposing new measurements to be made at HERA, extracting the maximum information from the available data, and developing/improving the theoretical and experimental tools. This report summarizes the results achieved during this workshop.

Angular ordering and small-x evolution

ArXiv (0)

GP Salam

This talks examines the effect of angular ordering on the small-x evolution of the unintegrated gluon distribution, and discusses the characteristic function for the CCFM equation, as well as some preliminary results on final-state properties.

Associated quantities from the CCFM approach

ArXiv (0)

GP Salam

Results are presented on structure functions and final state properties within the CCFM approach. Traditionally used forms of the CCFM equation have difficulty fitting the F_2 data, predicting too fast a growth at small x. A solution can be found in a particular treatment of formally subleading (1-z) terms, which dampens very considerably the small-x growth. Preliminary results are shown for the transverse energy flow, and future prospects and plans are discussed.

Small-x final states and the CCFM equation

ArXiv (0)

GP Salam

The status of the Milan group's work on CCFM-based phenomenology at small x, and possible directions of future investigation, are discussed.

The QCD/SM Working Group: Summary Report

ArXiv (0)

S Alekhin, C Balazs, R Ball, T Binoth, E Boos, M Botje, M Cacciari, S Catani, VD Duca, M Dobbs, SD Ellis, R Field, DD Florian, S Forte, E Gardi, T Gehrmann, AG-D Ridder, W Giele, EWN Glover, M Grazzini, J-P Guillet, G Heinrich, J Huston, I Hinchliffe, V Ilyin, J Kanzaki, K Kato, B Kersevan, N Kidonakis, A Kulesza, Y Kurihara, E Laenen, K Lassila-Perini, L Lonnblad, L Magnea, M Mangano, K Mazumudar, S Moch, S Mrenna, P Nadolsky, P Nason, F Olness, F Paige, E Pilon, I Puljak, J Pumplin, E Richter-Was, G Salam, R Scalise, M Seymour, T Sjostrand, G Sterman, M Tonnesmann, E Tournefier, W Vogelsang, A Vogt, R Vogt, B Webber, C-P Yuan, D Zeppenfeld

This Report documents the results obtained by the Working Group on Quantum ChromoDynamics and the Standard Model for the Workshop Physics at TeV Colliders'', Les Houches, France, 21 May - 1 June 2001. The account of uncertainties in Parton Distribution Functions is reviewed. Progresses in the description of multiparton final states at Next-to-Leading Order and the extension of calculations for precision QCD observables beyond this order are summarized. Various issues concerning the relevance of resummation for observables at TeV colliders is examined. Improvements to algorithms of jet reconstruction are discussed and predictions for diphoton and photon pi-zero production at the LHC are made for kinematic variables of interest regarding searches for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons. Finally, several improvements implemented in Monte-Carlo event generators are documented.

The QCD dipole picture of small-x physics

ArXiv (0)

R Peschanski, GP Salam

The QCD dipole picture of BFKL dynamics provides an attractive theoretical approach to the study of the QCD (resummed) perturbative expansion of small-x physics and more generally to hard high-energy processes. We discuss applications to the phenomenology of proton structure functions in the HERA range and to the longstanding problem of unitarity corrections, and outline some specific predictions of the dipole picture.

The status of NLL BFKL

ArXiv (0)

GP Salam

This talk summarises the current status of the NLL corrections to BFKL physics and discusses the question of small-x factorisation.

Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 4. Deciphering the Nature of the Higgs Sector

ArXiv (0)

This Report summarizes the results of the activities of the LHC Higgs Cross Section Working Group in the period 2014-2016. The main goal of the working group was to present the state-of-the-art of Higgs physics at the LHC, integrating all new results that have appeared in the last few years. The first part compiles the most up-to-date predictions of Higgs boson production cross sections and decay branching ratios, parton distribution functions, and off-shell Higgs boson production and interference effects. The second part discusses the recent progress in Higgs effective field theory predictions, followed by the third part on pseudo-observables, simplified template cross section and fiducial cross section measurements, which give the baseline framework for Higgs boson property measurements. The fourth part deals with the beyond the Standard Model predictions of various benchmark scenarios of Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, extended scalar sector, Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and exotic Higgs boson decays. This report follows three previous working-group reports: Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 1. Inclusive Observables (CERN-2011-002), Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 2. Differential Distributions (CERN-2012-002), and Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 3. Higgs properties (CERN-2013-004). The current report serves as the baseline reference for Higgs physics in LHC Run 2 and beyond.

Summary of the XXVIIth Rencontres de Blois: Particle Physics and Cosmology

ArXiv (0)

GP Salam

This writeup summarises some of the highlights from the 2015 Rencontres de Blois, with a compression ratio of about 100:1 relative to the original presentations.

QCD calculations for jet substructure

ArXiv (0)

M Dasgupta, S Marzani, GP Salam

We present results on novel analytic calculations to describe invariant mass distributions of QCD jets with three substructure algorithms: trimming, pruning and the mass-drop taggers. These results not only lead to considerable insight into the behaviour of these tools, but also show how they can be improved. As an example, we discuss the remarkable properties of the modified mass-drop tagger.

Moriond 2009, QCD and High Energy Interactions: Theory Summary

ArXiv (0)

GP Salam

These proceedings provide a brief summary of the theoretical topics that were covered at Moriond QCD 2009, including non-perturbative QCD, perturbative QCD at colliders, a small component of physics beyond the standard model and heavy-ion collisions.

A posteriori inclusion of PDFs in NLO QCD final-state calculations

ArXiv (0)

T Carli, GP Salam, F Siegert

Any NLO calculation of a QCD final-state observable involves Monte Carlo integration over a large number of events. For DIS and hadron colliders this must usually be repeated for each new PDF set, making it impractical to consider many error' PDF sets, or carry out PDF fits. Here we discuss `a posteriori'' inclusion of PDFs, whereby the Monte Carlo run calculates a grid (in x and Q) of cross section weights that can subsequently be combined with an arbitrary PDF. The procedure is numerically equivalent to using an interpolated form of the PDF. The main novelty relative to prior work is the use of higher-order interpolation, which substantially improves the tradeoff between accuracy and memory use. An accuracy of about 0.01% has been reached for the single inclusive cross-section in the central rapidity region |y|<0.5 for jet transverse momenta from 100 to 5000 GeV. This method should facilitate the consistent inclusion of final-state data from HERA, Tevatron and LHC in PDF fits, thus helping to increase the sensitivity of LHC to deviations from standard Model predictions.

CAESAR: Computer Automated Resummations

ArXiv (0)

GP Salam

This talk gives a brief discussion of the motivations and principles behind computer automated expert semi-analytical resummation (CAESAR) for QCD final states.

High-precision $α_s$ measurements from LHC to FCC-ee

ArXiv (0)

D d'Enterria, PZ Skands, S Alekhin, A Banfi, S Bethke, J Blümlein, KG Chetyrkin, D d'Enterria, G Dissertori, XGI Tormo, AH Hoang, M Klasen, T Klijnsma, S Kluth, J-L Kneur, BA Kniehl, DW Kolodrubetz, J Kühn, P Mackenzie, B Malaescu, V Mateu, L Mihaila, S Moch, K Mönig, R Perez-Ramos, A Pich, J Pires, K Rabbertz, GP Salam, F Sannino, JSI Riera, M Srebre, IW Stewart

This document provides a writeup of all contributions to the workshop on "High precision measurements of $\alpha_s$: From LHC to FCC-ee" held at CERN, Oct. 12--13, 2015. The workshop explored in depth the latest developments on the determination of the QCD coupling $\alpha_s$ from 15 methods where high precision measurements are (or will be) available. Those include low-energy observables: (i) lattice QCD, (ii) pion decay factor, (iii) quarkonia and (iv) $\tau$ decays, (v) soft parton-to-hadron fragmentation functions, as well as high-energy observables: (vi) global fits of parton distribution functions, (vii) hard parton-to-hadron fragmentation functions, (viii) jets in $e^\pm$p DIS and $\gamma$-p photoproduction, (ix) photon structure function in $\gamma$-$\gamma$, (x) event shapes and (xi) jet cross sections in $e^+e^-$ collisions, (xii) W boson and (xiii) Z boson decays, and (xiv) jets and (xv) top-quark cross sections in proton-(anti)proton collisions. The current status of the theoretical and experimental uncertainties associated to each extraction method, the improvements expected from LHC data in the coming years, and future perspectives achievable in $e^+e^-$ collisions at the Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee) with $\cal{O}$(1--100 ab$^{-1}$) integrated luminosities yielding 10$^{12}$ Z bosons and jets, and 10$^{8}$ W bosons and $\tau$ leptons, are thoroughly reviewed. The current uncertainty of the (preliminary) 2015 strong coupling world-average value, $\alpha_s(m_Z)$ = 0.1177 $\pm$ 0.0013, is about 1\%. Some participants believed this may be reduced by a factor of three in the near future by including novel high-precision observables, although this opinion was not universally shared. At the FCC-ee facility, a factor of ten reduction in the $\alpha_s$ uncertainty should be possible, mostly thanks to the huge Z and W data samples available.

Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 3. Higgs Properties

ArXiv (0)

TLHCHCSW Group, S Heinemeyer, C Mariotti, G Passarino, R Tanaka, JR Andersen, P Artoisenet, EA Bagnaschi, A Banfi, T Becher, FU Bernlochner, S Bolognesi, P Bolzoni, R Boughezal, D Buarque, J Campbell, F Caola, M Carena, F Cascioli, N Chanon, T Cheng, SY Choi, A David, PD Aquino, G Degrassi, DD Re, A Denner, HV Deurzen, S Diglio, BD Micco, RD Nardo, S Dittmaier, M Duhrssen, RK Ellis, G Ferrera, N Fidanza, M Flechl, DD Florian, S Forte, R Frederix, S Frixione, S Gangal, Y Gao, MV Garzelli, D Gillberg, P Govoni, M Grazzini, N Greiner, J Griffiths, AV Gritsan, C Grojean, DC Hall, C Hays, R Harlander, R Hernandez-Pinto, S Hoche, J Huston, T Jubb, M Kadastik, S Kallweit, A Kardos, L Kashif, N Kauer, H Kim, R Klees, M Kramer, F Krauss, A Laureys, S Laurila, S Lehti, Q Li, S Liebler, X Liu, HE Logan, G Luisoni, M Malberti, F Maltoni, K Mawatari, F Maierhofer, H Mantler, S Martin, P Mastrolia, O Mattelaer, J Mazzitelli, B Mellado, K Melnikov, P Meridiani, DJ Miller, E Mirabella, SO Moch, P Monni, N Moretti, A Muck, M Muhlleitner, P Musella, P Nason, C Neu, M Neubert, C Oleari, J Olsen, G Ossola, T Peraro, K Peters, F Petriello, G Piacquadio, CT Potter, S Pozzorini, K Prokofiev, I Puljak, M Rauch, D Rebuzzi, L Reina, R Rietkerk, A Rizzi, Y Rotstein-Habarnau, GP Salam, G Sborlini, F Schissler, M Schonherr, M Schulze, M Schumacher, F Siegert, P Slavich, JM Smillie, O Stal, JFV Soden-Fraunhofen, M Spira, IW Stewart, FJ Tackmann, PTE Taylor, D Tommasini, J Thompson, RS Thorne, P Torrielli, F Tramontano, NV Tran, Z Trocsanyi, M Ubiali, P Vanlaer, MV Acosta, T Vickey, A Vicini, WJ Waalewijn, D Wackeroth, C Wagner, JR Walsh, J Wang, G Weiglein, A Whitbeck, C Williams, J Yu, G Zanderighi, M Zanetti, M Zaro, PM Zerwas, C Zhang, TJE Zirke, S Zuberi

This Report summarizes the results of the activities in 2012 and the first half of 2013 of the LHC Higgs Cross Section Working Group. The main goal of the working group was to present the state of the art of Higgs Physics at the LHC, integrating all new results that have appeared in the last few years. This report follows the first working group report Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 1. Inclusive Observables (CERN-2011-002) and the second working group report Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 2. Differential Distributions (CERN-2012-002). After the discovery of a Higgs boson at the LHC in mid-2012 this report focuses on refined prediction of Standard Model (SM) Higgs phenomenology around the experimentally observed value of 125-126 GeV, refined predictions for heavy SM-like Higgs bosons as well as predictions in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and first steps to go beyond these models. The other main focus is on the extraction of the characteristics and properties of the newly discovered particle such as couplings to SM particles, spin and CP-quantum numbers etc.

Analytical studies for non-perturbative QCD of jets at hadron colliders

ArXiv (0)

M Dasgupta, L Magnea, G Salam

Inspired by the success of analytical models for non-perturbative effects, used to investigate event shape variables at LEP and HERA, we apply them to a study of jets at hadron colliders such as the Tevatron and the LHC. We find that simple analytical estimates are able to shed considerable light on issues that could previously be tackled only through Monte-Carlo simulations, for example the role of different non-perturbative effects in various jet algorithms. In this context, we also provide testable numerical results for the commonly studied inclusive-jet $p_t$ distribution, and we introduce new observables that could be employed to verify our calculations.

Parton Distributions: Summary Report

ArXiv (0)

M Dittmar, S Forte, A Glazov, S Moch, S Alekhin, G Altarelli, J Andersen, RD Ball, J Blumlein, H Bottcher, T Carli, M Ciafaloni, D Colferai, A Cooper-Sarkar, G Corcella, LD Debbio, G Dissertori, J Feltesse, A Guffanti, C Gwenlan, J Huston, G Ingelman, M Klein, JI Latorre, T Lastovicka, G Lastovicka-Medin, L Magnea, A Piccione, J Pumplin, V Ravindran, B Reisert, J Rojo, AS Vera, GP Salam, F Siegert, A Stasto, H Stenzel, C Targett-Adams, RS Thorne, A Tricoli, JAM Vermaseren, A Vogt

We provide an assessment of the impact of parton distributions on the determination of LHC processes, and of the accuracy with which parton distributions (PDFs) can be extracted from data, in particular from current and forthcoming HERA experiments. We give an overview of reference LHC processes and their associated PDF uncertainties, and study in detail W and Z production at the LHC. We discuss the precision which may be obtained from the analysis of existing HERA data, tests of consistency of HERA data from different experiments, and the combination of these data. We determine further improvements on PDFs which may be obtained from future HERA data (including measurements of $F_L$), and from combining present and future HERA data with present and future hadron collider data. We review the current status of knowledge of higher (NNLO) QCD corrections to perturbative evolution and deep-inelastic scattering, and provide reference results for their impact on parton evolution, and we briefly examine non-perturbative models for parton distributions. We discuss the state-of-the art in global parton fits, we assess the impact on them of various kinds of data and of theoretical corrections, by providing benchmarks of Alekhin and MRST parton distributions and a CTEQ analysis of parton fit stability, and we briefly presents proposals for alternative approaches to parton fitting. We summarize the status of large and small x resummation, by providing estimates of the impact of large x resummation on parton fits, and a comparison of different approaches to small x resummation, for which we also discuss numerical techniques.