Local form factor subtraction for three-loop QCD corrections to electroweak production in quark-antiquark annihilation

Abstract

We extend a local subtraction framework to three-loop QCD corrections for the production of multiple electroweak bosons in quark-antiquark annihilation. We derive two-loop Ward identities that ensure the factorisation of most collinear singularities from the hard-scattering process in the sum over integrands. Infrared and ultraviolet singularities are removed point-by-point in loop momentum space using a minimal set of counterterms, which can be integrated analytically in terms of known master integrals. Additional counterterms eliminate non-factorising terms arising from loop momentum shifts and one-loop corrections to the gluon three-point function. We identify previously unknown non-factorising loop polarisation effects in the single-collinear regions, which pose challenges for local integrability and require further investigation. The techniques presented here are a first crucial step in formulating a systematic approach for constructing finite integrands for general electroweak amplitudes at three-loop order.