QCD radiative corrections to electroweak-boson production at large transverse momentum in hadron collisions

The results of a complete analytical calculation of the next-to-leading-order QCD radiative corrections to the inclusive cross sections $\mathrm{parton}+\mathrm{parton}\to V+X$, where $V$ is an on-shell $W^{\pm }$ or $Z^0$ with transverse momentum $Q_T$ of order $M_W$, or a massive virtual photon with $Q_T$ of order of its invariant mass, are presented. Numerical predictions for $W$, $Z$, and ${\gamma }^{*}$ production at collider energies are also presented. The dependence of the radiative corrections on the choice of renormalization and factorization scales is discussed. The results presented indicate that the QCD-improved parton model can be used to make firm and reliable predictions for electroweak-boson production at large $Q_T$.