Threshold expansion at order alpha_s⁴ for the t-tbar invariant mass distribution at hadron colliders

We calculate the leading O(alpha_s^4) contributions to the invariant mass distribution of top-quark pairs produced at the Tevatron and LHC, in the limit where the invariant mass of the t-tbar pair approaches the partonic center-of-mass energy. Our results determine at NNLO in alpha_s the coefficients of all singular plus distributions and scale-dependent logarithms in the differential partonic cross sections for q-qbar, gg -> t-tbar + X. A numerical analysis showing the effects of the NNLO corrections on the central values and scale dependence of the invariant mass distribution is performed. The NNLO corrections are found to significantly enhance the cross section and reduce the perturbative uncertainties compared to the NLO calculation.