Higher order QCD corrections to an exclusive two-photon process

We calculate the next-to-leading order QCD corrections in the $\text{MS}$ scheme to the coefficient functions in an operator product expansion of the amplitude T(q², p²) for the process $\text{γ}{}^1\text{(q) + γ}{}^1\text{(p) →}\text{helicity-zero}$, flavour non-singlet meson in which ?q² is large and ?p² ? 0. For an asymptotic wave function the complete O(α_s) correction for a pseudoscalar meson is about 16% for p² = 0 and α_s = 0.3; most of this correction can be removed by using a modified evolution equation for the wave function, leaving a correction of about 7%. For large p² the complete O(α_s) correction for a pseudoscalar meson is about 10%. We discuss how our results can be combined with similar calculations for the pion form factor F_π(Q²) to give a prediction: F_π(Q²) = Aα_s(Q²)T_π²(q², 0)(1 + Bα_s) that is independent of the as yet unknown two-loop anomalous dimension matrix.     

Investigation of the phase of the electromagnetic pion form factor in the asymptotic region

The phase of the electromagnetic pion form factor G(t) in the asymptotic region (t > 1 (GeV)²) is investigated by the dispersion sum-rule method. Using experimental data for G(t) at t < 1 (GeV)² we find that the mean weighted value of the asymptotic phase does not show strong deviations from the asymptotic value of the phase coming from an extrapolation of the data from the ?-resonance region with the help of the Gounaris-Sakurai formula. The contribution of the hypothetical ?-like resonances to the dispersion sum rules is roughly estimated. These estimates and the results of the calculation of the dispersion sum rules show that the existence of strong ?-like elastic resonances is forbidden in the 1–1.7 GeV $\text{t}$ range at least.     

Large perturbative corrections to the Drell-Yan process in QCD

The total cross section $\text{d}\text{σ}\text{d}\text{Q}{}^2$ for the production of a muon pair of invariant mass Q²via the Drell-Yan mechanism and the Feynman x_F differential cross section $\text{d}{}^2\text{σ}\text{d}\text{Q}{}^2\text{d}\text{x}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>F</mtext>}}$ are calculated in QCD retaining all terms up to order α_s(Q². The calculations are performed using dimensional regularisation of the intermediary infrared and collinear singularities, but we present our results in a form independent of such details. The corrections to both these cross sections coming from radiative corrections to the lowest-order $\text{q}\text{q}$ annihilation diagram are found to be large at present values of Q² and S when the cross section is expressed in terms of parton densities derived from leptonproduction, for all Drell-Yan processes of practical interest. Numerical calculations are presented which show, for any reasonable parametrisation of the parton densities, that the neglect of higher-order terms in α_s(Q²) is not justifiable. The quark-gluon diagrams on the other hand give small corrections in this order and are only important for PP scattering.     

How to continue the predictions of perturbative QCD from the spacelike region where they are derived to the timelike regime where experiments are performed

The predictions of perturbative QCD are derived in the deep euclidean region, whereas the physical region for most observables is timelike. The confrontation of these predictions with experiment thus necessitates an analytic continuation. This we find introduces large higher order corrections in terms of α_s(|Q²|), the usual choice ofperturbative expansion parameter. These corrections are naturally absorbed by changing to the expansion parameter $\text{a}\text{(Q}{}^2\text{) = |α}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>s</mtext>}}\text{(Q}{}^2\text{)|(}\text{Re}\text{α}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>s</mtext>}}\text{(Q}{}^2\text{)/|α}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>s</mtext>}}\text{(Q}{}^2\text{)|)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>(n?2)</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}$, where α_s(Q²)ⁿ is the leading term in the spacelike region. For the intermediate range of Q² experimentally accessible at present, where $\text{a}\text{(Q}{}^2\text{)}$ is significantly smaller than α_s(|Q²|), we find the resulting phenomenology is improved. In particular, we demonstrate how the values of $\text{Λ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>MS</mtext>}}$ obtained from analyses of quarkonium decays become consistent.     

Pion form factor in QCD: How to calculate?

The calculation of the pion form factor F _π(Q ²) in QCD is discussed. The main points of the nonlocal condensate QDC sum rule approach are considered and its results for the pion form factor are shown compared with the predictions of the perturbative and lattice QCD. The local duality (LD) approach for the pion FF in QCD is studied. It is shown that the main parameter of the approach for Q ² ≥ 2 GeV², namely, s ₀^LD(Q ²) should grow with an increase in Q ², rather than remain constant.     

Perturbative QCD corrections in Drell-Yan processes

The influence of lowest-order QCD corrections on the Drell-Yan cross section $\text{Q}{}^4\text{(}\text{dσ}\text{dQ}{}^2\text{)(τ, Q}{}^2\text{)}$ is determined and compared with the asymptotic freedom (AF) corrections. The perturbative calculation exhibits the AF-characteristics of a (strongly) rising Q²-dependence for √τ?0.1 (qg-scattering) and falling for √τ?0.2 (qq?-annihilation). Qualitative agreement between the two calculation methods in the entire √τ-range is obtained with α_s = 0.3.     

Nucleon charge form factors and chiral quark models

Calculations of the proton and neutron charge form factors G_E^p,n(q²) are presented, based on chiral bag as well as confining Dirac potential models with chiral pion-quark coupling. Special emphasis is placed on a detailed treatment of the charged pion cloud contribution to the nucleon current. The role of a finite extension of the pion-quark vertex in truncating the summation over intermediate quark bag states is studied. Quark core radii (including recoil corrections) are constrained by a simultaneous calculation of the nucleon axial form factor. The proton charge form factor is well reproduced for $\text{|q}{}^2\text{|}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{? 0.7}\text{GeV}$ with quark core rms radii between 0.5–0.6 fm. About $\text{1}\text{3}$ of the proton charge is carried by the pion cloud in this model. The neutron charge form factor is obtained with the correct sign and overall q² dependence but needs further refinements, probably at the level of the isoscalar form factor.     

On the transverse spread of QCD jets

Recent QCD results on two-particle longitudinal spectra inside quark and gluon jets are extended to the case of a fixed relative transverse momentum q_T with Λ ≈ 0.5 GeV ? 2|q_T| ? √Q². Broad q_T distributions, especially for gluon jets, are obtained which smooth out automatically the perturbative result and whose integrated versions scale in η_Max ≡ $\text{log}\text{(}\text{2q}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>T</mtext>}}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>Max</mtext>}}\text{Λ}\text{)/}\text{log}\text{(}\text{Q}\text{Λ}\text{)}$.     

Non-perturbative QCD effects at large momentum transfers

We calculate the simplest one-instanton correction to the perturbative QCD prediction for e⁺e^? annihilation to hadrons. At high centre-of-mass energies Q we find a contribution to the total cross section from a simple fermion loop of the form

$\text{δR}\text{R}\text{∝}\text{Q}{}^2\text{→∞}\text{Q}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>?11?</mtext><mtext>Nf</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}\text{(1n Q}{}^2\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>6(33?4Nf)</mtext><mtext>(33?2Nf)</mtext><mtext>or</mtext>}}\text{(1n Q}{}^2\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>6(33?4Nf)</mtext><mtext>(33?2Nf)?1</mtext>}}$

where N_f is the number of quark flavours. The numerical value of this contribution is O(1) for Q ～ 1 to 2 GeV.     

QCD corrections to jet multiplicity moments

QCD predictions of hadronic multiplicity moments in jets, including corrections of relative order $\text{α}{}_{\mathrm{s}}\text{(Q}{}^2\text{)}$, are presented. They agree with e⁺e^? annihilation data for reasonable values of α_s, but the corrections are so large that terms of yet higher order are unlikely to be negligible.     

Form factors of heavy mesons in QCD

We discuss logarithmic corrections to form factors of mesons built from heavy quarks. The reactions e⁺e^? → η_cγ and H → Jψγ are considered as an example. A novel feature as compared to the well-studied problem of the pion form factor is the existence of transitions between the quark-antiquark state $\text{c}\text{c}$ and the gluonic one. O(α_s) corrections are calculated exactly. An infinite series of the leading logarithmic terms (α_sln[Q²/m_c²])ⁿ is summed up with the help of the operator technique. Apart from ree results already known for quark operators, we use some new results referring to gluon operators and their mixing with those made from quarks. Two alternative derivations of the multiplicatively renormalizable operators are given. The first one reduces to a direct computation of the mixing matrix and its diagonalization, the second is based on conformal symmetry considerations.     

Pion electromagnetic form factor in QCD sum rules

The electromagnetic form factor of the π meson is calculated in terms of the QCD sum rules for a pion axial-vector current with allowance made for the radiative QCD corrections. The derived dependence of the pion form factor on the square of the transferred momentum Q² is in good agreement with the experimental data. The QCDc orrections are shown to make a large contribution, and they should be taken into account in a rigorous theoretical analysis.     

Full O(αew) electroweak corrections to e+e−→HHZ

We calculate the full $\text{O}\text{(α}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>ew</mtext>}}\text{)}$ electroweak corrections to the Higgs pair production process e⁺e⁻→HHZ at an electron–positron linear collider in the standard model, and analyze the dependence of the Born cross section and the corrected cross section on the Higgs boson mass m_H and the c.m. energy $\text{s}$. To see the origin of some of the large corrections clearly, we calculate the QED and genuine weak corrections separately. The numerical results show that the corrections significantly suppress or enhance the Born cross section, depending on the values of m_H and $\text{s}$. For the c.m. energy $\text{s}\text{=500}$ GeV, which is the most favorable colliding energy for HHZ production with intermediate Higgs boson mass, the relative correction decreases from −5.3% to −11.5% as m_H increases from 100 to 150 GeV. For the range of the c.m. energy where the cross section is relatively large, the genuine weak relative correction is small, less than 5%.     

Sum rules and the pion form factor in QCD

We propose a new approach to the investigation of the pion electromagnetic form factor in QCD based on the systematic use of the QCD sum rule technique. The theoretical curve obtained for F_π(Q²) is in good agreement with existing experimental data.     

Inclusive π electroproduction in the deep inelastic region

Using 20.5 GeV electrons on protons, we measured inclusive π⁰'s (of transverse momentum, p_T, from 0 to 1.4 GeV/c) produced by virtual photons of energy, ν, from 4 to 16.5 GeV and four-momentum squared, q², from ?1.8 to ?8.5 (GeV/c)². Comparing with charged pion data, we find , supporting the quark model. Photon knockout of a quark is favored as the interpretation of these data because of scaling in z = E_π/ν and similarity in z-dependence of other pion production data. Consistent with this interpretation are the dependence of 〈p_T〉 on q², the azimuthal dependence, and fits to the constituent interchange model. We also observe a possible p_T^?4 dependence at large |q²| over a limited p_T range.     

DSE Perspective on QCD Modeling,Distribution Amplitudes,and Form Factors

We describe results for the pion distribution amplitude (PDA) at the non-perturbative scale μ = 2 GeV by projecting the Poincaré-covariant Bethe–Salpeter wave-function onto the light-front and use it to investigate the ultraviolet behavior of the electromagnetic form factor, F _π (Q ²), on the entire domain of spacelike Q ². The significant dilation of this PDA compared to the known asymptotic PDA is a signature of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking on the light front. We investigate the transition region of Q ² where non-perturbative behavior of constituent-like quarks gives way to the partonic-like behavior of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The non-perturbative approach is based on the Dyson–Schwinger equation (DSE) framework for continuum investigations in QCD. The leading-order, leading-twist perturbative QCD result for Q ² F _π (Q ²) underestimates the new DSE computation by just 15 % on \({Q^2\gtrsim 8\,}\) GeV², in stark contrast with the result obtained using the asymptotic PDA.     

Photon-pion transition form factor at high photon virtualities within the nonlocal chiral quark model

Recently, the BABAR collaboration reported the measurements of the photon-pion transition form factor F _πγγ*(Q ²), which are in strong contradiction to the predictions of the standard factorization approach to perturbative QCD. In the present work, based on a nonperturbative approach to the QCD vacuum and on rather universal assumptions, we show that there exist two asymptotic regimes for the pion transition form factor. One regime with the asymptotic behavior F _πγ*γ(Q ²) ∼ 1/Q ² corresponds to the result of the standard QCD factorization approach, while other violates the standard factorization and leads to asymptotic behavior as F _πγ*γ(Q ²) ∼ ln(Q ²)/Q ². Furthermore, considering specific nonlocal chiral quark models, we find the region of parameters, where the existing CELLO, CLEO and BABAR data for the pion transition form factor are successfully described.     

The effect of 1Q2 and αs corrections on tests of QCD

We discuss in detail the use of the structure function F₃(x, Q²) of deep-inelastic neutrino scattering for testing quantum chromodynamics. QCD is entirely consistent with all data. However, we show that higher-twist (order $\text{1}\text{Q}{}^2$) contributions, which are commonly neglected, can have a dramatic impact on interpretation of this result. At present the data are not accurate enough to determine the magnitudes of these $\text{1}\text{Q}{}^2$ contributions within the context of QCD. Furthermore, the possible presence of higher-twist terms makes it impossible to unambiguously detect the logarithmic Q² dependence and anomalous dimensions which distinguish QCD from hypothetical alternative theories. As a result, more precise data with higher Q² are needed to provide definitive tests of QCD. The corrections of second-order in α_s introduce fewer complications for testing QCD, and provide a useful context for understanding critical ambiguities in the definitions of α_s and Λ.     

What lattice calculations can tell us about the gluon gas

Higher order perturbative and nonperturbative corrections to the grand potential of hot QCD are considered qualitatively Comparing with lattice results, it is argued that the nonperturbative parts are small but that the O(g⁴) term in $\text{Ω}$ is large and positive.     

Preliminary evidence for UA(1) breaking in QCD from lattice calculations

We suggest a simple definition of the topological charge density Q(x) in the lattice Yang-Mills theory and evaluate A≡∝d⁴x〈Q(x)Q(0)〉 in SU(2) by Monte Carlo simulation. The “data” interpolate well between the strong and weak coupling expansions, which we compute to order g^?12 and g⁶, respectively. After subtraction of the perturbative tail, our points exhibit the expected asymptotic freedom behaviour giving $\text{A}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>4</mtext>}}\text{≌(0.11±0.02)K}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, K being the SU(2) quarkless string tension. Although a larger value for $\text{A}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>4</mtext>}}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>?</mtext><mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ would be preferable, we are led to conclude (at least tentatively) that the U_A(1) problem of QCD is indeed solved perturbatively in the quark loop expansion.