Small x resummation of rapidity distributions: The case of Higgs production

We provide a method for the all order computation of small x contributions at the leading logarithmic level to cross-sections which are differential in rapidity. The method is based on a generalization to rapidity distributions of the high energy (or k(T)) factorization theorem hitherto proven for inclusive cross-sections. We apply the method to Higgs production in gluon-gluon fusion, both with finite top mass and in the infinite mass limit: in both cases, we determine all-order resummed expressions, as well as explicit expressions for the leading small x terms up to NNLO. We use our result to construct an explicit approximate analytic expression of the finite-mass NLO rapidity distribution and an estimate of finite-mass corrections at NNLO. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.