Field-theoretic analysis of hadronization using soft drop jet mass
One of the greatest challenges in quantum chromodynamics is understanding the hadronization mechanism, which is also crucial for carrying out precision physics with jet substructure. In this paper, we bring together recent advancements in our understanding of nonperturbative structure of the soft drop jet mass based on field theory, with precise perturbative calculations at next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy of its multidifferential variants. This allows for a model-independent analysis of power corrections associated with hadronization in a systematic manner. We test and calibrate hadronization models and their interplay with parton showers by comparing our universality predictions with various event generators for quark and gluon initiated jets in both lepton-lepton and hadron-hadron collisions. Our findings reveal that hadronization models perform better for quark jets relative to gluon jets. Our results provide a valuable toolbox for precision studies with the soft drop jet mass and pave the way for future analyses using real-world collider data. The stringent constraints derived in our framework are useful for improving the modeling of hadronization and its interplay with parton showers in next-generation event generators.