ar X iv : h ep - p h / 06 08 27 2 v 1 2 4 A ug 2 00 6 QCD Corrections to Vector Boson Pair Production via Weak Boson Fusion ∗

One of the major goals of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the understanding of the mechanism of electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking [1]. In this context, vector-boson fusion (VBF) processes form a promising class of reactions: Higgs production in VBF, i.e. the reaction qq → qqH, has been proposed as a particularly clean channel for the discovery of the Higgs boson and a later determination of its couplings [2]. An important background to the H → V V decay channel (V = W or Z) in VBF is constituted by continuum V V production via VBF, i.e. EW pp → V V jj production [3]. The precise knowledge of the standard model cross section for this reaction at NLO-QCD accuracy becomes crucial for distinguishing enhancements in VBF processes due to signatures of new physics, such as