arXiv subjects

A. Nyffeler

Publications and source records attributed to A. Nyffeler.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

The anomalous magnetic moment of the muon in the Standard Model

We review the present status of the Standard Model calculation of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. This is performed in a perturbative expansion in the fine-structure constant $α$ and is broken down into pure QED, electroweak, and hadronic contributions. The pure QED contribution is by far the largest and has been evaluated up to and including $\mathcal{O}(α^5)$ with negligible numerical uncertainty. The electroweak contribution is suppressed by $(m_μ/M_W)^2$ and only shows up at the level of the seventh significant digit. It has been evaluated up to two loops and is known to better than one percent. Hadronic contributions are the most difficult to calculate and are responsible for almost all of the theoretical uncertainty. The leading hadronic contribution appears at $\mathcal{O}(α^2)$ and is due to hadronic vacuum polarization, whereas at $\mathcal{O}(α^3)$ the hadronic light-by-light scattering contribution appears. Given the low characteristic scale of this observable, these contributions have to be calculated with nonperturbative methods, in particular, dispersion relations and the lattice approach to QCD. The largest part of this review is dedicated to a detailed account of recent efforts to improve the calculation of these two contributions with either a data-driven, dispersive approach, or a first-principle, lattice-QCD approach. The final result reads $a_μ^\text{SM}=116\,591\,810(43)\times 10^{-11}$ and is smaller than the Brookhaven measurement by 3.7$σ$. The experimental uncertainty will soon be reduced by up to a factor four by the new experiment currently running at Fermilab, and also by the future J-PARC experiment. This and the prospects to further reduce the theoretical uncertainty in the near future-which are also discussed here-make this quantity one of the most promising places to look for evidence of new physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

A lattice calculation of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to $(g-2)_μ$

We present results of calculations of the hadronic vacuum polarisation contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment. Specifically, we focus on controlling the infrared regime of the vacuum polarisation function. Our results are corrected for finite-size effects by combining the Gounaris-Sakurai parameterisation of the timelike pion form factor with the Lüscher formalism. The impact of quark-disconnected diagrams and the precision of the scale determination is discussed and included in our final result in two-flavour QCD, which carries an overall uncertainty of 6%. We present preliminary results computed on ensembles with $N_f=2+1$ dynamical flavours and discuss how the long-distance contribution can be accurately constrained by a dedicated spectrum calculation in the iso-vector channel.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

The hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon $g-2$ from lattice QCD

We present a calculation of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment, $a_μ^{\mathrm hvp}$, in lattice QCD employing dynamical up and down quarks. We focus on controlling the infrared regime of the vacuum polarization function. To this end we employ several complementary approaches, including Padé fits, time moments and the time-momentum representation. We correct our results for finite-volume effects by combining the Gounaris-Sakurai parameterization of the timelike pion form factor with the Lüscher formalism. On a subset of our ensembles we have derived an upper bound on the magnitude of quark-disconnected diagrams and found that they decrease the estimate for $a_μ^{\mathrm hvp}$ by at most 2%. Our final result is $a_μ^{\mathrm hvp}=(654\pm32\,{}^{+21}_{-23})\cdot 10^{-10}$, where the first error is statistical, and the second denotes the combined systematic uncertainty. Based on our findings we discuss the prospects for determining $a_μ^{\mathrm hvp}$ with sub-percent precision.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2016

Mini-Proceedings, 18th meeting of the Working Group on Radiative Corrections and MC Generators for Low Energies

The mini-proceedings of the 18$^{\mathrm{th}}$ Meeting of the "Working Group on Radiative Corrections and MonteCarlo Generators for Low Energies" held in Frascati, 19$^{\mathrm{th}}$ - 20$^{\mathrm{st}}$ May, are presented. These meetings, started in 2006, have as aim to bring together experimentalists and theoreticians working in the fields of meson transition form factors, hadronic contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the leptons, and the effective fine structure constant. The development of MonteCarlo generators and Radiative Corrections for precision $e^+e^-$ and $τ$-lepton physics are also covered, with emphasis on meson production. At this workshop, a documentary entitled {\it Bruno Touschek with AdA in Orsay} commemorating the first observation of electron-positron collisions in a laboratory was also presented. With this edition, the working group reaches 10 years of continuous activities.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Mini-Proceedings of the 14th meeting of the Working Group on Rad. Corrections and MC Generators for Low Energies

The mini-proceedings of the 14th Meeting of the "Working Group on Rad. Corrections and MC Generators for Low Energies" held in Frascati on September 13, 2013, as a satellite meeting of the PHIPSI13 conference in Rome, are presented. These meetings, started in 2006, have as aim to bring together experimentalists and theorists working in the fields of meson transition form factors, hadronic contributions to (g-2)_μand the effective fine structure constant, and development of MonteCarlo generators and Radiative Corrections for precision e+e- and tau physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

On the possibility to measure the (pi0 to gamma gamma) decay width and the (gamma* gamma to pi0) transition form factor with the KLOE-2 experiment

A possibility of KLOE-2 experiment to measure the width Gamma(pi0 to gamma gamma) and the (pi0 gamma gamma*) form factor F(Q^2) at low invariant masses of the virtual photon in the space-like region is considered. This measurement is an important test of the strong interaction dynamics at low energies. The feasibility is estimated on the basis of a Monte-Carlo simulation. The expected accuracy for Gamma(pi0 to gamma gamma) is at a per cent level, which is better than the current experimental world average and theory. The form factor will be measured for the first time at Q^2 less or equal 0.1 GeV^2 in the space-like region. The impact of these measurements on the accuracy of the pion-exchange contribution to the hadronic light-by-light scattering part of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is also discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Dictionary of LHC Signatures

We report on a plan to establish a "Dictionary of LHC Signatures", an initiative that started at the WHEPPX workshop in January 2008. This study aims towards the strategy on distinguishing of 3 classes of dark matter motivated scenarios such as R-parity conserved supersymmetry, Little Higgs models with T-parity conservation and Universal Extra Dimensions with KK-parity for generic cases of their realization in wide range of the model space. Discriminating signatures are tabulated and will need a further detailed analysis.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Hadronic light-by-light scattering contribution to the muon g-2: an effective field theory approach

The hadronic light-by-light contribution to a_{mu}, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, is discussed from the point of view of an effective low-energy theory. As an application, the coefficient of the leading logarithm arising from the two-loop graphs involving two anomalous vertices is computed, and found to be positive. This corresponds to a positive sign for the pion-pole contribution to the hadronic light-by-light correction to a_{mu}, and to a sizeable reduction of the discrepancy between the present experimental value of a_{mu} and its theoretical counterpart in the standard model.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Effective Field Theory for a Heavy Higgs Boson: Matching and Gauge Invariance

For large values of the Higgs mass the low energy structure of the gauged linear sigma model in the spontaneously broken phase can adequately be described by an effective field theory. We present a manifestly gauge-invariant functional technique to explicitly evaluate the corresponding effective Lagrangian from the underlying theory.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

QCD at Large $θ$ Angle and Axion Cosmology

We use the chiral Lagrangian to investigate the global properties of the $N$-flavor QCD vacuum as a function of the $θ$ parameter. In the case of exact quark degeneracy we find evidence for first order phase transitions at $θ= π\cdot ({\rm odd~ integer})$. The first order transitions are smoothed by quark mass splittings, although interesting effects remain at realistic quark masses. We emphasize the role of the $η'$ condensate in our analysis. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results on the internal hadronic structure of axion domain walls and axion cosmology.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

Effective Field Theory for a Heavy Higgs: a Manifestly Gauge Invariant Approach

For large values of the Higgs boson mass the low energy structure of the gauged linear sigma model in the spontaneously broken phase can adequately be described by an effective field theory. In this work we present a manifestly gauge invariant technique to explicitly evaluate the corresponding effective Lagrangian from the underlying theory. In order to demonstrate the application of this functional method, the effective field theory of the abelian Higgs model is thoroughly analyzed. We stress that this technique does not rely on any particular property of the abelian case. The application to the non-abelian theory is outlined.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1994

Effective Field Theory of the Linear $O(N)$ Sigma Model

The low energy structure of a theory containing light and heavy particle species which are separated by a mass gap can adequately be described by an effective theory which contains only the light particles. In this work we present a thorough analysis of the effective field theory of the linear $O(N)$ sigma model in the spontaneously broken phase. In particular, we present a detailed discussion of two techniques, a short-distance expansion and a method based on loop-integrals, which can be used to explicitly evaluate the functional relationships between the low energy constants of the effective theory and the parameters of the underlying theory. We furthermore provide a detailed analysis of the matching relation between the linear sigma model and its effective theory, in order to clarify some discrepancies which can be found in the literature.

hep-ph↗