Multi-jet merging in a variable flavor number scheme

Abstract: We propose a novel technique for the combination of multi-jet merged simulations in the five-flavor scheme with calculations for the production of b-quark associated final states in the four-flavor scheme. We show the equivalence of our algorithm to the FONLL method at the fixed-order and logarithmic accuracy inherent to the matrix-element and parton-shower simulation employed in the multi-jet merging. As a first application we discuss Zbb production at the Large Hadron Collider.