arXiv subjects

B. Ruijl

Publications and source records attributed to B. Ruijl.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Five-loop beta function for gauge theories: computations, results and consequences

At the end of 2016, we computed the five-loop (N$^4$LO) contributions to the beta function in perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), its generalization to non-Abelian gauge theories with a simple compact Lie group, and for Quantum Electrodynamics (QED). Here we recall main tools used in and specifically developed for this computation and its main analytic and numerical results. The development work carried out for this project facilitated further even more involved analytic five-loop computations. We briefly summarize also their numerical QCD results for Higgs-boson decay to hadrons in the heavy-top limit and for two N$^4$LO splitting functions for the evolution of quark distributions of hadrons. The latter lead to a first realistic estimate of the five-loop contribution to another important quantity in perturbative QCD, the quark cusp anomalous dimension.

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arXiv2023

Additional moments and x-space approximations of four-loop splitting functions in QCD

We have extended our previous computations of the even-N moments of the flavour-singlet four-loop splitting functions to N = 12 for the pure-singlet quark case and N = 10 for all other cases. These results, obtained using physical quantities in inclusive deep-inelastic scattering, have been and will be used to validate conceptionally much more challenging determinations of these splitting functions from off-shell operator matrix elements (OMEs). For the quark-gluon and gluon-gluon splitting functions, which have yet to be computed to higher N using OMEs, we construct approximations based on our moments and endpoint constraints, where we present new large-x results for the gluon-gluon case. These approximations facilitate an approximate N^3LO evolution of parton distributions which are sufficiently accurate outside the region of small momentum fractions x.

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arXiv2022

DIS coefficient functions at four loops in QCD and beyond

We report results for the lowest even-$N$ moments of the flavor-nonsinglet structure functions $F_2$ and $F_L$ in QCD at the fourth order in the perturbative expansion in the strong coupling constant $\alpha_s$. Our results are presented in numerical form and we compare them with the leading and subleading terms of the threshold expansion for large values of $N$, which corresponds to the limit $x \to 1$.

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arXiv2021

Low moments of the four-loop splitting functions in QCD

We have computed the four lowest even-N moments of all four splitting functions for the evolution of flavour-singlet parton densities of hadrons at the fourth order in the strong coupling constant alpha_s. The perturbative expansion of these moments, and hence of the splitting functions for momentum fractions x >~ 0.1, is found to be well behaved with relative alpha_s-coefficients of order one and sub-percent effects on the scale derivatives of the quark and gluon distributions at alpha_s ~< 0.2. More intricate computations, including other approaches such as the operator-product expansion, are required to cover the full x-range relevant to LHC analyses. Our results are presented analytically for a general gauge group for detailed checks and validations of such future calculations.

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arXiv2019

Five-loop contributions to low-N non-singlet anomalous dimensions in QCD

We present the first calculations of next-to-next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N^4LO) contributions to anomalous dimensions of spin-N twist-2 operators in perturbative QCD. Specifically, we have obtained the respective non-singlet quark-quark anomalous dimensions at N=2 and N=3 to the fifth order in the strong coupling alpha_s. These results set the scale for the N^4LO contributions to the evolution of the non-singlet quark distributions of hadrons outside the small-x region, and facilitate a first approximate determination of the five-loop cusp anomalous dimension. While the N^4LO coefficients are larger than expected from the lower-order results, their inclusion stabilizes the perturbative expansions for three or more light flavours at a sub-percent accuracy for alpha_s < 0.3.

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arXiv2018

Anomalous dimensions and splitting functions beyond the next-to-next-to-leading order

We report on recent progress on the splitting functions for the evolution of parton distributions and related quantities, the (lightlike) cusp anomalous dimensions, in perturbative QCD. New results are presented for the four-loop (next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order, N^3LO) contributions to the flavour-singlet splitting functions and the gluon cusp anomalous dimension. We present first results, the moments N=2 and N=3, for the five-loop (N^4LO) non-singlet splitting functions.

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arXiv2018

Numerical Methods and the 4-point 2-loop Higgs amplitudes

Some of the difficulties faced when calculating multi-loop amplitudes with several mass scales are reviewed. We then focus on one particular difficulty, the evaluation of the Feynman integrals, and introduce the program pySecDec which can be used to numerically compute such integrals. Some of the new features and in particular the sector symmetry finder, which can help to reduce the number of sectors to be numerically integrated after sector decomposition, are described.

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arXiv2018

On quartic colour factors in splitting functions and the gluon cusp anomalous dimension

We have computed the contributions of the quartic Casimir invariants to the four-loop anomalous dimensions of twist-2 spin-N operators at N =< 16. The results provide new information on the structure of the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N^3LO) splitting functions P_{ik}^(3)(x) for the evolution of parton distributions, and facilitate approximate expressions which include the quartic-Casimir contributions to the (light-like) gluon cusp anomalous dimension. These quantities turn out to be closely related, by a generalization of the lower-order `Casimir scaling', to the corresponding quark results. Using these findings, we present an approximate result for the four-loop gluon cusp anomalous dimension in QCD which is sufficient for phenomenological applications.

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arXiv2018

R*-operation and five-loop calculations

We sketch how the R*-operation can be used to compute the pole terms of Feynman diagrams. We identify computational difficulties when performing five-loop calculations, and provide four solutions that drastically reduce the number of terms that are generated. Using these methods, we have computed the beta function for Yang-Mills theory with fermions, the R-ratio in electron-positron annihilation, and Higgs decays to quarks and gluons at five-loop accuracy. The results for the beta function and Higgs decay width to gluons in the heavy-top limit are briefly discussed. There is no need for six-loop extensions of these calculations in the near future.

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arXiv2018

Four-loop results on anomalous dimensions and splitting functions in QCD

We report on recent progress on the flavour non-singlet splitting functions in perturbative QCD. The~exact four-loop (N^3LO) contribution to these functions has been obtained in the planar limit of a large number of colours. Phenomenologically sufficient approximate expressions have been obtained for the parts not exactly known so far. Both cases include results for the four-loop cusp and virtual anomalous dimensions which are relevant well beyond the evolution of non-singlet quark distributions, for which an accuracy of (well) below 1% has now been been reached.

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arXiv2017

On Higgs decays to hadrons and the R-ratio at N^4LO

We present the first determination of Higgs-boson decay to hadrons at the next-to-next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order of perturbative QCD in the limit of a heavy top quark and massless light flavours. This result has been obtained by computing the absorptive parts of the relevant five-loop self-energy for a general gauge group and combining the outcome with the corresponding coefficient function already known to this order in QCD. Our new result reduces the uncertainty due to the truncation of the perturbation series to a fraction of the uncertainty due to the present error of the strong coupling constant. We have also performed the corresponding but technically simpler computations for direct Higgs decay to bottom quarks and for the electromagnetic R-ratio in e^+ e^- -> hadrons, thus verifying important fifth-order results obtained so far only by one group.

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arXiv2017

Four-Loop Non-Singlet Splitting Functions in the Planar Limit and Beyond

We present the next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N^3LO) contributions to the non-singlet splitting functions for both parton distribution and fragmentation functions in perturbative QCD. The exact expressions are derived for the terms contributing in the limit of a large number of colours. For the remaining contributions, approximations are provided that are sufficient for all collider-physics applications. From their threshold limits we derive analytical and high-accuracy numerical results, respectively, for all contributions to the four-loop cusp anomalous dimension for quarks, including the terms proportional to quartic Casimir operators. We briefly illustrate the numerical size of the four-loop corrections, and the remarkable renormalization-scale stability of the N^3LO results, for the evolution of the non-singlet parton distribution and the fragmentation functions. Our results appear to provide a first point of contact of four-loop QCD calculations and the so-called wrapping corrections to anomalous dimensions in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory.

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arXiv2017

Four-loop QCD propagators and vertices with one vanishing external momentum

We have computed the self-energies and a set of three-particle vertex functions for massless QCD at the four-loop level in the MSbar renormalization scheme. The vertex functions are evaluated at points where one of the momenta vanishes. Analytical results are obtained for a generic gauge group and with the full gauge dependence, which was made possible by extensive use of the Forcer program for massless four-loop propagator integrals. The bare results in dimensional regularization are provided in terms of master integrals and rational coefficients; the latter are exact in any space-time dimension. Our results can be used for further precision investigations of the perturbative behaviour of the theory in schemes other than MSbar. As an example, we derive the five-loop beta function in a relatively common alternative, the minimal momentum subtraction (MiniMOM) scheme.

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arXiv2017

Forcer, a FORM program for the parametric reduction of four-loop massless propagator diagrams

We explain the construction of Forcer, a FORM program for the reduction of four-loop massless propagator-type integrals to master integrals. The resulting program performs parametric IBP reductions similar to the three-loop Mincer program. We show how one can solve many systems of IBP identities parametrically in a computer-assisted manner. Next, we discuss the structure of the Forcer program, which involves recognizing reduction actions for each topology, applying symmetries, and transitioning between topologies after edges have been removed. This part is entirely precomputed and automatically generated. We give examples of recent applications of Forcer, and study the performance of the program. Finally we demonstrate how to use the Forcer package and sketch how to prepare physical diagrams for evaluation by Forcer.

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arXiv2017

The five-loop beta function of Yang-Mills theory with fermions

We have computed the five-loop corrections to the scale dependence of the renormalized coupling constant for Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), its generalization to non-Abelian gauge theories with a simple compact Lie group, and for Quantum Electrodynamics (QED). Our analytical result, obtained using the background field method, infrared rearrangement via a new diagram-by-diagram implementation of the R* operation and the Forcer program for massless four-loop propagators, confirms the QCD and QED results obtained by only one group before. The numerical size of the five-loop corrections is briefly discussed in the standard MSbar scheme for QCD with n_f flavours and for pure SU(N) Yang-Mills theory. Their effect in QCD is much smaller than the four-loop contributions, even at rather low scales.

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arXiv2016

Large-nf Contributions to the Four-Loop Splitting Functions in QCD

We have computed the fourth-order nf^2 contributions to all three non-singlet quark-quark splitting functions and their four nf^3 flavour-singlet counterparts for the evolution of the parton distributions of hadrons in perturbative QCD with nf effectively massless quark flavours. The analytic form of these functions is presented in both Mellin N-space and momentum-fraction x-space; the large-x and small-x limits are discussed. Our results agree with all available predictions derived from lower-order information. The large-x limit of the quark-quark cases provides the complete nf^2 part of the four-loop cusp anomalous dimension which agrees with two recent partial computations.

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arXiv2016

Forcer: a FORM program for 4-loop massless propagators

We present a new FORM program for analytically evaluating four-loop massless propagator-type Feynman integrals in an efficient way. Our program Forcer implements parametric reductions of the aforementioned class of Feynman integrals into a set of master integrals and can be considered as a four-loop extension of the three-loop Mincer program. Since the program structure at the four-loop level is highly complicated and the equations easily become lengthy, most of the code was generated in an automatic way or with computer-assisted derivations. We have checked correctness of the program by recomputing already-known quantities in the literature.

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arXiv2016

First Forcer results on deep-inelastic scattering and related quantities

We present results on the fourth-order splitting functions and coefficient functions obtained using Forcer, a four-loop generalization of the Mincer program for the parametric reduction of self-energy integrals. We have computed the respective lowest three even-N and odd-N moments for the non-singlet splitting functions and the non-singlet coefficient functions in electromagnetic and nu+nu(bar) charged-current deep-inelastic scattering, and the N=2 and N=4 results for the corresponding flavour-singlet quantities. Enough moments have been obtained for an LLL-based determination of the analytic N-dependence of the nf^3 and nf^2 parts, respectively, of the singlet and non-singlet splitting functions. The large-N limit of the latter provides the complete nf^2 contributions to the four-loop cusp anomalous dimension. Our results also provide additional evidence of a non-vanishing contribution of quartic group invariants to the cusp anomalous dimension.

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