Production of Jets in Association with $Z$ Bosons

We simulate a measurement of the inclusive Z (→e+e−/µ+µ−) + jets cross-section with the ATLAS experiment in pp collisions at 14 TeV for an integrated luminosity of 1 fb−1 using fully-simulated signal and background Monte Carlo data sets. The reconstruction of leptons and of missing transverse energy becomes more complex in the presence of a multi- jet final state. We quantify the reconstruction differences with respect to those observed for inclusive Z production. We derive statistical and systematic limitations in terms of probing the perturbative QCD predictions and discriminating between predictions of different event generators.