Hard interactions of quarks and gluons: a primer for LHC physics

Abstract

In this review article, we develop the perturbative framework for the\ncalculation of hard scattering processes. We undertake to provide both a\nreasonably rigorous development of the formalism of hard scattering of quarks\nand gluons as well as an intuitive understanding of the physics behind the\nscattering. We emphasize the importance of logarithmic corrections as well as\npower counting of the strong coupling constant in order to understand the\nbehavior of hard scattering processes. We include "rules of thumb" as well as\n"official recommendations", and where possible seek to dispel some myths.\nExperiences that have been gained at the Fermilab Tevatron are recounted and,\nwhere appropriate, extrapolated to the LHC.\n