arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Kirill Melnikov.
We present details of our recent calculation of alpha^2 corrections to the parapositronium decay into two photons. These corrections are rather small and our final result for the parapositronium lifetime agrees well with the most recent measurement. Implications for orthopositronium decays are briefly discussed.
Two-loop QED corrections to the decay rate of parapositronium (p-Ps) into two photons are presented. We find Gamma(p-Ps --> 2 photons) = 7989.64(2)/microsec. The non-logarithmic O(alpha^2) corrections turn out to be small, contrary to some earlier estimates. We speculate that the so-called ``orthopositronium lifetime puzzle'' will not likely be solved by large QED corrections.
We describe a calculation of the on-shell renormalization factors in QCD and QED at the three loop level. Explicit results for the fermion mass renormalization factor Zm and the on-shell fermion wave function renormalization constant Z2 are given. We find that at O(alpha_s^3) the wave function renormalization constant Z2 in QCD becomes gauge dependent also in the on-shell scheme, thereby disproving the ``gauge-independence'' conjecture based on an earlier two-loop result. As a byproduct, we derive an O(alpha_s^3) contribution to the anomalous dimension of the heavy quark field in HQET.
In order to better understand what to expect from numerical CORE computations for two-dimensional massless QED (the Schwinger model) we wish to obtain some analytic control over the approach to the continuum limit for various choices of fermion derivative. To this end we study the Hamiltonian formulation of the lattice Schwinger model (i.e., the theory defined on the spatial lattice with continuous time) in $A_0=0$ gauge. We begin with a discussion of the solution of the Hamilton equations of motion in the continuum, we then parallel the derivation of the continuum solution within the lattice framework for a range of fermion derivatives. The equations of motion for the Fourier transform of the lattice charge density operator show explicitly why it is a regulated version of this operator which corresponds to the point-split operator of the continuum theory and the sense in which the regulated lattice operator can be treated as a Bose field. The same formulas explicitly exhibit operators whose matrix elements measure the lack of approach to the continuum physics. We show that both chirality violating Wilson-type and chirality preserving SLAC-type derivatives correctly reproduce the continuum theory and show that there is a clear connection between the strong and weak coupling limits of a theory based upon a generalized SLAC-type derivative.
The analytic relation between the \bar {MS} and the pole quark masses is computed to O(α_s^3) in QCD. Using this exact result, the accuracy of the large β_0 approximation is critically examined and the implications of the obtained relation for semileptonic B decays are discussed.
The last unknown contribution to hydrogen energy levels at order m alpha ^7, due to the slope of the Dirac form factor at three loops, is evaluated in a closed analytical form. The resulting shift of the hydrogen nS energy level is found to be 3.016/n^3 kHz. Using the QED calculations of the 1S Lamb shift, we extract a precise value of the proton charge radius r_p=0.883 \pm 0.014 fm.
Order alpha^2 contribution to the orthopositronium decay rate due to one-photon virtual annihilation is found to be delta Gamma = (alpha/pi)^2 (pi^2 ln(alpha) - 0.8622(9))Gamma_LO.
Recent results on second order quantum corrections to semileptonic decays of b quarks and positronium spectroscopy are reviewed. Similarities between calculations in these seemingly different problems are demonstrated. Technical aspects of solving systems of recurrence relations, and application of dimensional regularization to bound states are explained.
We present an analytic calculation of the O(m alpha^6) recoil and radiative recoil corrections to energy levels of positronium nS states and their hyperfine splitting. A complete analytic formula valid to O(m alpha^6) is given for the spectrum of S states. Technical aspects of the calculation are discussed in detail. Theoretical predictions are given for various energy intervals and compared with experimental results.
We present a calculation of the O(m alpha^7 ln(alpha)^2) corrections to positronium energy levels. The result is used to estimate the current uncertainty in theoretical predictions of the positronium spectrum.
We review recent calculations of second order corrections to heavy quark decays. Techniques developed in this context are applicable to many processes involving heavy charged particles, for example the nonabelian dipole radiation. Calculations involving relativistic radiating particles are also discussed.
We present O(alpha_s^2) corrections to the decay t-->bW in the limit of a very large top quark mass, m_t >> m_W. We find that the O(alpha_s^2) effects decrease the top quark decay width Gamma_t by about 2%: Gamma_t = Gamma_0(1-0.8alpha_s(m_t)-1.7alpha_s^2). The complete corrections are smaller by about 24% than their estimate based on the BLM effects O(beta_0 alpha_s^2). We explain how to compute a new type of diagrams which contribute to Gamma(t --> bW) at the O(alpha_s^2) level.
We calculate the next-to-next-to-leading order correction to the cross section for top quark pair production in e+e- annihilation in the threshold region, resumming all O [ (alpha_s/beta)^n (alpha_s^2, beta^2, alpha_s beta) ] terms of perturbation series. We find that the magnitude of the NNLO correction is comparable to the size of the NLO corrections.
The b quark low-scale running mass m_kin is determined from an analysis of the Upsilon sum rules in the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). It is demonstrated that using this mass one can significantly improve the convergence of the perturbation series for the spectral density moments. We obtain m_kin(1 GeV) = 4.56 \pm 0.06 GeV. Using this result we derive the value of the MS-bar mass m: m(m) = 4.20 \pm 0.1 GeV. Contrary to the low-scale running mass, the pole mass of the b quark cannot be reliably determined from the sum rules. As a byproduct of our study we find the NNLO analytical expression for the cross section e+e- --> Q\bar Q of the quark antiquark pair production in the threshold region, as well as the energy levels and the wave functions at the origin for the ^1S_3 bound states of Q\bar Q.
We present complete O(alpha_s^2) corrections to the decay b-->c+l+nu at the point where the invariant mass of the leptons sqrt{q^2} equals the c quark mass. We use this result, together with previously obtained corrections at the ends of the q^2 spectrum, to estimate the total width of the semileptonic b-->c decay with O(alpha_s^2) accuracy, essential for the |V_{cb}| determination.
Transition rates for coherent muon-electron conversion in muonic atoms, mu+N --> e+N, are computed for various types of muon number violating interactions. Attention is paid to relativistic atomic effects, Coulomb distortion, finite nuclear size, and nucleon distributions. Discrepancies with previously published results are pointed out and explained. Results are presented for several elements of current and future experimental interest.
We present the O(alpha_s) corrections to the cross section for the reaction e+e- --> gamma^* --> Q \bar Q in the energy region close to the threshold. We assume that the energy of the reaction is such that both the perturbative expansion in the strong coupling constant and expansion in the relative velocity of the heavy quarks can be used. We explicitly obtain terms O(alpha_s^2/beta^2, alpha_s^2/beta, alpha_s^2) in the relative correction to the threshold cross section. Using the ideas of asymptotic expansions, we demonstrate how an expansion of Feynman diagrams in the threshold region is constructed. From this analysis we obtain a matching relation between the vector current in full QCD and the quark-antiquark current in NRQCD at leading order in 1/m and the second order in the strong coupling constant.
Recent progress in calculating O(alpha_s^2) corrections to inclusive and exclusive semileptonic b-->c transitions is reviewed. The impact of these corrections on the |V_cb| determination from both inclusive and exclusive B decays is discussed.