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Stefan Dittmaier

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Dittmaier.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
arXiv2002

The Dipole Formalism for Next-to-Leading Order QCD Calculations with Massive Partons

The dipole subtraction method for calculating next-to-leading order corrections in QCD was originally only formulated for massless partons. In this paper we extend its definition to include massive partons, namely quarks, squarks and gluinos. We pay particular attention to the quasi-collinear region, which gives rise to terms that are enhanced by logarithms of the parton masses, M. By ensuring that our subtraction cross section matches the exact real cross section in all quasi-collinear regions we achieve uniform convergence both for hard scales Q ~= M and Q >> M. Moreover, taking the masses to zero, we exactly reproduce the previously-calculated massless results. We give all the analytical formulae necessary to construct a numerical program to evaluate the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to arbitrary observables in an arbitrary process.

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arXiv2001

Electroweak radiative corrections to W-boson production at hadron colliders

The complete set of electroweak O(alpha) corrections to the Drell--Yan-like production of W bosons is calculated and compared to an approximation provided by the leading term of an expansion about the W-resonance pole. All relevant formulae are listed explicitly, and particular attention is paid to issues of gauge invariance and the instability of the W bosons. A detailed discussion of numerical results underlines the phenomenological importance of the electroweak corrections to W-boson production at the Tevatron and at the LHC. While the pole expansion yields a good description of resonance observables, it is not sufficient for the high-energy tail of transverse-momentum distributions, relevant for new-physics searches.

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arXiv2000

One-loop Singular Behaviour of QCD and SUSY QCD Amplitudes with Massive Partons

We discuss the structure of infrared and ultraviolet singularities in on-shell QCD and supersymmetric QCD amplitudes at one-loop order. Previous results, valid for massless partons, are extended to the case of massive partons. Using dimensional regularization, we present a general factorization formula that controls both the singular epsilon-poles and the logarithmic contributions that become singular for vanishing masses. We introduce generalized Altarelli--Parisi splitting functions and discuss their relations with the singular terms in the amplitudes. The dependence on the regularization scheme is also considered.

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arXiv1999

A General Approach To Photon Radiation Off Fermions

Soft or collinear photon emission potentially poses numerical problems in the phase-space integration of radiative processes. In this paper, a general subtraction formalism is presented that removes such singularities from the integrand of the numerical integration and adds back the analytically integrated contributions that have been subtracted. The method is a generalization of the dipole formalism of Catani and Seymour, which was formulated for NLO QCD processes with massless unpolarized particles. The presented formalism allows for arbitrary mass and helicity configurations in processes with charged fermions and any other neutral particles. Particular attention is paid to the limit of small fermion masses, in which collinear singularities cause potentially large corrections. The actual application and the efficiency of the formalism are demonstrated by the discussion of photonic corrections to the processes γγ--> t \bar t (γ), e^- γ--> e^- γ(γ), and μ^+ μ^- --> ν_e \barν_e (γ).

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arXiv1998

Weyl-van-der-Waerden formalism for helicity amplitudes of massive particles

The Weyl-van-der-Waerden spinor technique for calculating helicity amplitudes of massive and massless particles is presented in a form that is particularly well suited to a direct implementation in computer algebra. Moreover, we explain how to exploit discrete symmetries and how to avoid unphysical poles in amplitudes in practice. The efficiency of the formalism is demonstrated by giving explicit compact results for the helicity amplitudes of the processes gamma gamma -> f fbar, f fbar -> gamma gamma gamma, mu^- mu^+ -> f fbar gamma.

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arXiv1998

Theoretical aspects of W physics

High-precision predictions for W-production processes are complicated by the instability of the W bosons, requirements of gauge invariance, and the necessity to include radiative corrections. Salient features and recent progress concerning these issues are discussed for the process ee->WW->4f.

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arXiv1997

Thirring's low-energy theorem and its generalizations in the electroweak Standard Model

The radiative corrections to Compton scattering vanish in the low-energy limit in all orders of perturbation theory. This theorem, which is well-known for Abelian gauge theories, is proved in the electroweak Standard Model. Moreover, analogous theorems are derived for photon scattering off other charged particles, in particular W bosons. Since the theorems follow from gauge invariance and on-shell renormalization, their derivation is most conveniently performed in the framework of the background-field method.

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arXiv1996

Theoretical aspects of W-pair production in e+e- collisions

The most interesting theoretical features of W-pair production in e+e- collisions are reviewed. Based on an analysis of on-shell W-pairs, it is shown that the mere inclusion of leading $O(α)$ corrections--such as initial-state radiation, effects from the universal quantities $Δα$ and $Δr$, and the Coulomb singularity--cannot be expected to approximate the $O(α)$-corrected cross-section of $e^+e^-\to W^+W^-\to 4f$ to better than 1-2% for LEP2 energies. The importance of the gauge-invariance problem, arising from the introduction of finite decay widths, is discussed. The simplest consistent method to include $O(α)$ corrections at least to the doubly resonant contributions, viz. a pole expansion around the double resonance, is also briefly described.

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arXiv1996

Dyson summation without violating Ward identities and the Goldstone-boson equivalence theorem

In contrast to the conventional treatment of gauge theories, in the background-field method the Ward identities for connected Green functions are not violated by Dyson summation of self-energies in finite orders of perturbation theory. Thus, Dyson summation does not spoil gauge cancelations at high energies which are ruled by the Goldstone-boson equivalence theorem. Moreover, in the background-field method the precise formulation of the equivalence theorem in higher orders (including questions of renormalization) is simplified rendering actual calculations easier. Finally, the equivalence theorem is also formulated for the Standard Model with a non-linearly realized scalar sector and for the gauged non-linear $σ$-model.

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arXiv1995

Integrating out the Standard Higgs Field in the Path Integral

We integrate out the Higgs boson in the electroweak standard model at one loop and construct a low-energy effective Lagrangian assuming that the Higgs mass is much larger than the gauge-boson masses. Instead of applying diagrammatical techniques, we integrate out the Higgs boson directly in the path integral, which turns out to be much simpler. By using the background-field method and the Stueckelberg formalism, we directly find a manifestly gauge-invariant result. The heavy-Higgs effects on fermionic couplings are derived, too. At one loop the $\log\MH$-terms of the heavy-Higgs limit of the electroweak standard model coincide with the UV-divergent terms in the gauged non-linear $σ$-model, but vertex functions differ in addition by finite constant terms. Finally, the leading Higgs effects to some physical processes are calculated from the effective Lagrangian.

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arXiv1995

Stable Calculations for Unstable Particles: Restoring Gauge Invariance

We discuss theoretical and phenomenological aspects of the use of boson propagators with energy-dependent widths in predictions for high-energy scattering processes. In general, gauge invariance is violated in such calculations. We discuss several approaches to restore gauge invariance, necessary for a reliable result. The most promising method is the addition of the relevant parts of the fermionic corrections, which fulfills all Ward identities. The numerical difference between this and other approaches is studied. A number of recommendations are given for LEP2 computations.

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arXiv1995

Gauge invariance, gauge-parameter independence and properties of Green functions

The application of the background-field method to the electroweak Standard Model is reviewed and further explored. Special emphasis is put on questions of gauge invariance and gauge-parameter (in-)dependence. Owing to the gauge invariance of the background-field effective action, the vertex functions obey simple Ward identities which imply important properties of the vertex functions. Carrying out the renormalization in a way respecting background-field gauge invariance leads to considerable simplifications. The generalization of the background-field method to the non-linear realization of the scalar sector of the Standard Model is illustrated. Furthermore, the interplay between gauge independence of the S-matrix and Ward identities of vertex functions is investigated. Finally, the Standard Model contributions to the $S$, $T$, and $U$ parameters are calculated and discussed within the background-field method.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1995

One-Loop Effects of a Heavy Higgs Boson: a Functional Approach

We integrate out the Higgs boson in the electroweak standard model at one loop, assuming that it is very heavy. We construct a low-energy effective Lagrangian, which parametrizes the one-loop effects of the heavy Higgs boson at O(M_H^0). Instead of applying conventional diagrammatical techniques, we integrate out the Higgs boson directly in the path integral.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1995

Deriving Non-decoupling Effects of Heavy Fields from the Path Integral: a Heavy Higgs Field in an SU(2) Gauge Theory

We describe a method to remove non-decoupling heavy fields from a quantized field theory and to construct a low-energy one-loop effective Lagrangian by integrating out the heavy degrees of freedom in the path integral. We apply this method to the Higgs boson in a spontaneously broken SU(2) gauge theory (gauged linear sigma-model). In this context, the background-field method is generalized to the non-linear representation of the Higgs sector by applying (a generalization of) the Stueckelberg formalism. The (background) gauge-invariant renormalization is discussed. At one loop the log M_H-terms of the heavy-Higgs limit of this model coincide with the UV-divergent terms of the corresponding gauged non-linear sigma-model, but vertex functions differ in addition by finite (constant) terms in both models. These terms are also derived by our method. Diagrammatic calculations of some vertex functions are presented as consistency check.

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