A POWHEG generator for di-jet production in polarized proton-proton collisions

We present a new Monte-Carlo generator for the simulation of di-jet production in polarized proton-proton collisions at the next-to-leading order in QCD matched to parton showers using the framework of the POWHEG BOX. With this program we compute a variety of observables of immediate relevance for the spin program of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory. While parton-shower effects are generally small, we find that in some search regions their inclusion improves agreement of predictions with data. Moreover, we provide a critical assessment of selection criteria applied in experiment in the light of perturbative stability.