Modelling non-perturbative corrections to bottom-quark fragmentation

We describe B-hadron production in e(+)e(-) annihilation at the Z(0) pole by means of a model including non-perturbative corrections to b-quark fragmentation as originating, via multiple soft emissions, from an effective QCD coupling constant, which does not exhibit the Landau pole any longer and includes absorptive effects due to parton branching. We work in the framework of perturbative fragmentation functions at NLO, with NLL DGLAP evolution and NNLL large-x resummation in both coefficient function and initial condition of the perturbative fragmentation function. We include hadronization corrections via the effective coupling constant in the NNLO approximation and do not add any further non-perturbative fragmentation function. As part of our model, we perform the Mellin transforms of our resummed expressions exactly. We present results on the energy distribution of b-flavored hadrons, which we compare with LEP and SLD data, in both x- and N-spaces. We find that, within the theoretical uncertainties on our calculation, our model is able to reasonably reproduce the data at x less than or similar to 0.92 and the first five moments of the B cross section. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.