QCD One-Loop Effective Coupling Constant and Quark Mass Given in a Mass-Dependent Renormalization

The QCD one-loop renormalization is restudied in a mass-dependent subtraction scheme in which the quark mass is not set to vanish and the renormalization point is chosen to be an arbitrary time-like momentum. The correctness of the subtraction is ensured by the Ward identities which are respected in all the processes of subtraction.By considering the mass effect, the effective coupling constant and the effective quark masses derived by solving the renormalization group equations are given in improved expressions which are different from the previous results.     

More on the infrared renormalization group limit cycle in QCD

We present a detailed study of the recently conjectured infrared renormalization group limit cycle in QCD using chiral effective field theory. It was conjectured that small increases in the up and down quark masses can move QCD to the critical trajectory for an infrared limit cycle in the three-nucleon system. At the critical quark masses, the binding energies of the deuteron and its spin-singlet partner are tuned to zero and the triton has infinitely many excited states with an accumulation point at the three-nucleon threshold. We exemplify three parameter sets where this effect occurs at next-to-leading order in the chiral counting. For one of them, we study the structure of the three-nucleon system in detail using both chiral and contact effective field theories. Furthermore, we investigate the matching of the chiral and contact theories in the critical region and calculate the influence of the limit cycle on three-nucleon scattering observables. PACS 12.38.Aw, 21.45.+v, 11.10.Hi     

Properties of quark matter in a new quasiparticle model with QCD running coupling

The running of the QCD coupling in the effective mass causes thermodynamic inconsistency problem in the conventional quasiparticle model. We provide a novel treatment which removes the inconsistency by an effective bag constant. The chemical potential dependence of the renormalization subtraction point is constrained by the Cauchy condition in the chemical potential space. The stability and microscopic properties of strange quark matter are then studied within the completely self-consistent quasiparticle model, and the obtained equation of state of quark matter is applied to the investigation of strange stars. It is found that our improved model can describe well compact stars with mass about two times the solar mass, which indicates that such massive compact stars could be strange stars.     

Gauge-independent computation of t-quark mass

We study a gauge-independent formulation for the effective mass of quark based on the momentum subtraction renormalization condition. To this end a gauge-independent quark propagator is introduced, and with the aid of the resulting mass anomalous dimension, we can discuss the threshold effects in a gauge-independent manner. As an example we find an earlier computation of the top quark mass is modified. We find 2M_t=51±1 GeV.     

Minimal subtraction and the decoupling of heavy quarks for arbitrary values of the gauge parameter

The decoupling of a heavy quark is investigated to two loops for QCD renormalized by minimal subtraction. It is shown that the heavy quark effects can be absorbed into an effective coupling constant, an effective gauge parameter and effective masses for the light quarks. The relations between these effective parameters and the parameters of the full theory are gauge invariant. In terms of the effective parameters the theory satisfies renormalization group equations which refer only to the light degrees of freedom.     

On mass-independence of the minimal subtraction scheme in dimensional regularization II

A self-contained argument is given for the mass independence of the renormalization constants in the minimal subtraction scheme in dimensional regularization in a two mass theory (Yukawa theory). An extension to a theory containing more mass parameters seems straightforward.     

Decoupling of heavy quarks in mass-independent momentum subtraction schemes

Heavy quark decoupling in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) defined by mass-independent momentum subtraction (MOM) is investigated. The coefficients of the functions which allow for twoloop matching of the QCD parameters below and above a heavy quark threshold are calculated for some MOM schemes. The resulting numerical relations between the QCD scales and between the renormalization group invariant light-quark mass parameters off andf?1 flavour QCD are given.     

Weak Power-Counting Theorem for the Renormalization of the Nonlinear Sigma Model in Four Dimensions

The formulation of the non linear σ-model in terms of flat connection allows the construction of a perturbative solution of a local functional equation by means of cohomological techniques which are implemented in gauge theories. In this paper we discuss some properties of the solution at the one-loop level in D = 4. We prove the validity of a weak power-counting theorem in the following form: although the number of divergent amplitudes is infinite only a finite number of counterterms parameters have to be introduced in the effective action in order to make the theory finite at one loop, while respecting the functional equation (fully symmetric subtraction in the cohomological sense). The proof uses the linearized functional equation of which we provide the general solution in terms of local functionals. The counterterms are expressed in terms of linear combinations of these invariants and the coefficients are fixed by a finite number of divergent amplitudes. These latter amplitudes contain only insertions of the composite operators φ₀ (the constraint of the non linear σ-model) and F _μ (the flat connection). The structure of the functional equation suggests a hierarchy of the Green functions. In particular once the amplitudes for the composite operators φ₀ and F _μ are given all the others can be derived by functional derivatives. In this paper we show that at one loop the renormalization of the theory is achieved by the subtraction of divergences of the amplitudes at the top of the hierarchy. As an example we derive the counterterms for the four-point amplitudes. PACS numbers: 11.10.Gh, 11.30.Rd     

Prospects of open charm production at GSI-FAIR and J-PARC

We present a detailed phenomenological study of the prospects of open charm physics at the future p̄p and pp facilities GSI-FAIR and J-PARC, respectively. In particular, we concentrate on the differential cross sections and the charge and longitudinal double-spin asymmetries at next-to-leading order accuracy. Theoretical uncertainties for the proposed observables are estimated by varying the charm quark mass and the renormalization and factorization scales. PACS 12.38.Bx; 13.88.+e     

Meson polarized distribution function and mass dependence of the nucleon parton densities

The polarized distribution functions of mesons,including pion,kaon and eta,using the proton structure function,are calculated.We are looking for a relationship between the polarized distribution of mesons and the polarized structure of nucleons.We show that the meson polarized parton distributions leads to zero total spin for the concerned mesons,considering the orbital angular momentum of quarks and gluons inside the meson.Two separate Monte Carlo algorithms are applied to compute the polarized parton distributions of the kaon.Via the mass dependence of quark distributions,the distribution function of the eta meson is obtained.A new method by which the polarized sea quark distributions of protons are evolved separately-which cannot be performed easily using the standard solution of DGLAP equations-is introduced.The mass dependence of these distributions is obtained,using the renormalization group equation which makes their evolutions more precise.Comparison between the evolved distributions and the available experimental data validates the suggested solutions for separated evolutions.     

Gauge invariance and renormalization schemes in quantum chromodynamics

A general analysis of the Slavnov-Taylor identity connecting the triple gluon and ghost-ghost-gluon vertices and its consequences for two momentum subtraction (symmetric and asymmetric) renormalization schemes are given. It is shown that in the asymmetric scheme proposed in this paper the relation follows directly from the identity for a simple and natural definition of the renormalization constants. Explicit one-loop expressions for the renormalization constants in an arbitrary covariant gauge, including quark masses are given in support of the general analysis.     

Renormalization group approach towards the QCD phase diagram

The idea of the functional renormalization group and one-loop improved renormalization group flows are reviewed. The associated flow equations and nonperturbative approximations schemes for its solutions are discussed. These techniques are then applied to the strong interaction in the framework of an effective quark meson model, which is introduced in great detail. The renormalization group analysis of the two flavor quark meson model is extended to finite temperature and quark chemical potential which allows for an analysis of the chiral phase diagram beyond the mean field approximation. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Screening of heavy quark free energies at finite temperatureand non-zero baryon chemical potential

We analyze the dependence of heavy quark free energies on the baryon chemical potential μ_b in 2-flavor QCD by performing a 6th order Taylor expansion in the chemical potential which circumvents the sign problem. The bare quark mass at corresponds to a pion mass of about 770 MeV and is thus not in the range of physical quark masses but the quark mass dependence is known to be small above T_c. At N_τ = 4 the lattices are coarse, however, we are using improved (p4 staggered) fermions. The Taylor expansion coefficients of color singlet and color averaged free energies are calculated and from this the expansion coefficients for the corresponding screening masses are determined. We find that for small μ_b the free energies of a static quark-antiquark pair decrease in a medium with a net excess of quarks and that screening is well described by a screening mass which increases with increasing μ_b. The μ_b-dependent corrections to the screening masses are well described by perturbation theory for T ≳ 2T_c. In particular, we find for all temperatures above T_c that the expansion coefficients for singlet and color averaged screening masses differ by a factor 2. PACS. 11.15.Ha, 11.10.Wx, 12.38Gc, 12.38.Mh     

Importance of proper renormalization scale-setting for QCD testing at colliders

A primary problem affecting perturbative quantum chromodynamic (pQCD) analyses is the lack of a method for setting the QCD running-coupling renormalization scale such that maximally precise fixed-order predictions for physical observables are obtained. The Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC) eliminates the ambiguities associated with the conventional renormalization scale-setting procedure, yielding predictions that are independent of the choice of renormalization scheme. The QCD coupling scales and the effective number of quark flavors are set order-by-order in the pQCD series. The PMC has a solid theoretical foundation, satisfying the standard renormalization group invariance condition and all of the self-consistency conditions derived from the renormalization group. The PMC scales at each order are obtained by shifting the arguments of the strong force coupling constant α_s to eliminate all non-conformal {β_i} terms in the pQCD series. The {β_i} terms are determined from renormalization group equations without ambiguity. The correct behavior of the running coupling at each order and at each phase-space point can then be obtained. The PMC reduces in the N_C → 0 Abelian limit to the Gell-Mann-Low method. In this brief report, we summarize the results of our recent application of the PMC to a number of collider processes, emphasizing the generality and applicability of this approach. A discussion of hadronic Z decays shows that, by applying the PMC, one can achieve accurate predictions for the total and separate decay widths at each order without scale ambiguities. We also show that, if one employs the PMC to determine the top-quark pair forward-backward asymmetry at the next-to-next-to-leading order level, one obtains a comprehensive, self-consistent pQCD explanation for the Tevatron measurements of the asymmetry. This accounts for the “increasing-decreasing” behavior observed by the D0 collaboration for increasing tt¯ invariant mass. At lower energies, the angular distributions of heavy quarks can be used to obtain a direct determination of the heavy quark potential. A discussion of the angular distributions of massive quarks and leptons is also presented, including the fermionic component of the two-loop corrections to the electromagnetic form factors. These results demonstrate that the application of the PMC systematically eliminates a major theoretical uncertainty for pQCD predictions, thus increasing collider sensitivity to possible new physics beyond the Standard Model.     

Static quark anti-quark free and internal energy in two-flavor QCD

We study the change in free and internal energy due to the presence of a heavy quark anti-quark pair in a thermal heat bath in QCD with two flavors of staggered quarks at finite temperature. We discuss string breaking below as well as screening above the transition. Similarities and differences to the quenched case are discussed.Arrival of the final proofs: 24 March 2005PACS: 11.15.Ha, 11.10.Wx, 12.38.Mh, 25.75.Nq     

Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis Effective Potential for Quark Propagator in Real-Time Thermal Field Theory and Landau Gauge

We complete the derivation of the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis effective potential for quark propagator at finite temperature and finite quark chemical potential in the real-time formalism of thermal field theory and in Landau gauge. In the approximation that the function A(p2) in inverse quark propagator is replaced by unity, by means of the running gauge coupling and the quark mass function invariant under the renormalization group in zero temperature Quantum Chromadynamics (QCD), we obtain a calculable expression for the thermal effective potential, which will be a useful means to research chiral phase transition in QCD in the real-time formalism.     

Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis Effective Potential for Quark Propagator in Real-Time Thermal Field Theory and Landau Gauge

We complete the derivation of the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis effective potentiM for quark propagator at finite temperature and finite quark chemical potential in the real-time formalism of thermal field theory and in Landau gauge. In the approximation that the function A（p^2） in inverse quark propagator is replaced by unity, by means of the running gauge coupling and the quark mass function invariant under the renormalization group in zero temperature Quantum Chromadynamics （QCD）, we obtain a calculable expression for the thermal effective potential, which will be a useful means to research chiral phase transition in QCD in the real-time formalism.     

Meson polarized distribution function and mass dependence of the nucleon parton densities

The polarized distribution functions of mesons, including pion, kaon and eta, using the proton structure function, are calculated. We are looking for a relationship between the polarized distribution of mesons and the polarized structure of nucleons. We show that the meson polarized parton distributions leads to zero total spin for the concerned mesons, considering the orbital angular momentum of quarks and gluons inside the meson. Two separate Monte Carlo algorithms are applied to compute the polarized parton distributions of the kaon. Via the mass dependence of quark distributions, the distribution function of the eta meson is obtained. A new method by which the polarized sea quark distributions of protons are evolved separately which cannot be performed easily using the standard solution of DGLAP equations - is introduced. The mass dependence of these distributions is obtained, using the renormalization group equation which makes their evolutions more precise. Comparison between the evolved distributions and the available experimental data validates the suggested solutions for separated evolutions.     

RI′/SMOM scheme amplitudes for quark currents at two loops

We determine the two loop corrections to the Green’s function of a quark current inserted in a quark 2-point function at the symmetric subtraction point. The amplitudes for the scalar, vector and tensor currents are presented in both the [`(MS)]\overline {\mathrm {MS}} and RI′/SMOM renormalization schemes. The RI′/SMOM scheme two loop renormalization for the scalar and tensor cases agree with previous work. The vector current renormalization requires special treatment as it must be consistent with the Slavnov–Taylor identity which we demonstrate. We also discuss the possibility of an alternative definition of the RI′/SMOM scheme in the case of the tensor current.