Precision top-quark physics with applications

We review the recent progress in the determination of top-quark pair production cross sections at hadron colliders, in particular the Tevatron and the LHC. We discuss the theoretical developments, which lead to the determination of next-to-next-to-leading (NNLO) corrections to this process. Furthermore, we describe some applications which follow from a comparison of theory predictions with data, e.g. the determination of the top-quark pole mass, constraints on the gluon distribution function and bounds on light top squarks. Finally, we present the most recent analysis of the Tevatron forward-backward asymmetry, where we demonstrate agreement between the Standard Model and the measurement.