arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to V. Elias.
We examine two restructurings of the series relationship between the bare and renormalized coupling constant in dimensional regularization. In one of these restructurings, we are able to demonstrate via all-orders summation of leading and successive epsilon = 0 (dimensionality = 4) poles that the bare coupling vanishes in the dimension-4 limit.
Instanton contributions to the Laplace sum-rules for correlation functions of scalar gluonic currents are calculated. The role of the constant low-energy theorem term, whose substantial contribution is unique to the leading Laplace sum-rule $L_{-1}$, is shown to be diminished by instanton contributions, significantly increasing the resulting mass bounds for the ground state of scalar gluonium and improving compatibility with results from higher-weight sum-rules.
Using renormalization-group methods, we derive differential equations for the all-orders summation of logarithmic corrections to the QCD series for R(s) = sigma(e^+ e^- --> hadrons)/sigma(e^+ e^- --> mu^+ mu^-), as obtained from the imaginary part of the purely-perturbative vector-current correlation function. We present explicit solutions for the summation of leading and up to three subsequent subleading orders of logarithms. The summations accessible from the four-loop vector-correlator not only lead to a substantial reduction in sensitivity to the renormalization scale, but necessarily impose a common infrared bound on perturbative approximations to R(s), regardless of the infrared behaviour of the true QCD couplant.
Invariance of the effective action under changes of the renormalization scale $μ$ leads to relations between those (presumably calculated) terms independent of $μ$ at a given order of perturbation theory and those higher order terms dependent on logarithms of $μ$. This relationship leads to differential equations for a sequence of functions, the solutions of which give closed form expressions for the sum of all leading logs, next to leading logs and subsequent subleading logarithmic contributions to the effective action. The renormalization group is thus shown to provide information about a model beyond the scale dependence of the model's couplings and masses. This procedure is illustrated using the $ϕ_6^3$ model and Yang-Mills theory. In the latter instance, it is also shown by using a modified summation procedure that the $μ$ dependence of the effective action resides solely in a multiplicative factor of $g^2 (μ)$ (the running coupling). This approach is also shown to lead to a novel expansion for the running coupling in terms of the one-loop coupling that does not require an order-by-order redefinition of the scale factor $Λ_{QCD}$. Finally, logarithmic contributions of the instanton size to the effective action of an SU(2) gauge theory are summed, allowing a determination of the asymptotic dependence on the instanton size $ρ$ as $ρ$ goes to infinity to all orders in the SU(2) coupling constant.
Renormalization Group (RG) and optimized Pade-approximant methods are used to estimate the three-loop perturbative contributions to the inclusive semileptonic b \to u and b \to c decay rates. It is noted that the \bar{MS} scheme works favorably in the b \to u case whereas the pole mass scheme shows better convergence in the b \to c case. Upon the inclusion of the estimated three-loop contribution, we find the full perturbative decay rate to be 192π^3Γ(b\to u\barν_\ell\ell^-)/(G_F^2| V_{ub}|^2) = 2065 \pm 290{\rm GeV^5} and 192π^3Γ(b\to c\ell^-\barν_\ell)/(G_F^2|V_{cb}|^2)= 992 \pm 198 {\rm GeV^5}, respectively. The errors are inclusive of theoretical uncertainties and non-perturbative effects. Ultimately, these perturbative contributions reduce the theoretical uncertainty in the extraction of the CKM matrix elements |V_{ub}| and |V_{cb}| from their respective measured inclusive semileptonic branching ratio(s).
QCD contributions to the $b \to u \ell^- \barν_\ell$ decay rate, which are known to two-loop order in the $\bar{MS}$ scheme, exhibit sufficient dependence on the renormalization mass $μ$ to compromise phenomenological predictions for inclusive semileptonic $B \to X_u$ processes. Such scale dependence is ameliorated by the renormalization-group (RG) extraction and summation of all leading and RG-accessible subleading logarithms occurring subsequent to two-loop order in the perturbative series. This optimal RG-improvement of the known portion of the perturbative series virtually eliminates $μ$-dependence as a source of theoretical uncertainty in the predicted semileptonic $B \to X_u$ inclusive rate.
The renormalization-scale ($μ$) dependence of the two-loop inclusive semileptonic $b\to c\ell^-\barν_\ell$ decay rate is shown to be significant in the pole mass scheme, and the decay rate is shown to be poorly convergent in the MS-bar scheme. Three-loop contributions to the decay rate are estimated by developing Pade approximant techniques particularly suited to perturbative calculations in the pole mass scheme. An optimized Pade estimate of the three-loop contributions is obtained by comparison of the Pade estimates with the three-loop terms determined by renormalization-group invariance. The resulting three-loop estimate in the pole-mass scheme exhibits minimal sensitivity to the renormalization scale near $μ=1.0 GeV$, leading to an estimated decay rate of $192π^3Γ(b\to c\ell^-\barν_\ell)/(G_F^2|V_{cb}|^2)=992\pm 217 GeV^5$ inclusive of theoretical uncertainties and non-perturbative effects.
We explore how chiral-symmetry constraints on weak-interaction matrix elements suggest the existence of an intermediate state sigma in several different weak-interaction processes. Particular attention is directed toward recent evidence for a sigma within three-body nonleptonic weak decays.
For any perturbative series that is known to $k$-subleading orders of perturbation theory, we utilise the process-appropriate renormalization-group (RG) equation in order to obtain all-orders summation of series terms proportional to $α^n \log^{n-k}(μ^2)$ with $k = {0,1,2,3}$, corresponding to the summation to all orders of the leading and subsequent-three-subleading logarithmic contributions to the full perturbative series. These methods are applied to the perturbative series for semileptonic $b$-decays in both MS-bar and pole-mass schemes, and they result in RG-summed series for the decay rates which exhibit greatly reduced sensitivity to the renormalization scale $μ$. Such summation via RG-methods of all logarithms accessible from known series terms is also applied to perturbative QCD series for vector- and scalar-current correlation functions, the perturbative static potential function, the (single-doublet standard-model) Higgs decay amplitude into two gluons, as well as the Higgs-mediated high-energy cross-section for $W^+W^-\to ZZ$ scattering. The resulting RG-summed expressions are also found to be much less sensitive to the renormalization scale than the original series for these processes.
The constraint of a progressive decrease in residual renormalization scale dependence with increasing loop order is developed as a method for obtaining bounds on unknown higher-order perturbative corrections to renormalization-group invariant quantities. This technique is applied to the inclusive semileptonic process $b\to u \barν_\ell\ell^-$ (explicitly known to two-loop order) to obtain bounds on the three- and four-loop perturbative coefficients that are not accessible via the renormalization group. Using the principle of minimal sensitivity, an estimate is obtained for the perturbative contributions to $Γ(b\to u \barν_\ell\ell^-)$ that incorporates theoretical uncertainty from as-yet-undetermined higher order QCD corrections.
The three renormalization-group-accessible three-loop coefficients of powers of logarithms within the \bar{MS} series momentum-space for the QCD static potential are calculated and compared to values obtained via asymptotic Padé-approximant methods. The leading and next-to-leading logarithmic coefficients are both found to be in exact agreement with their asymptotic Padé-predictions. The predicted value for the third RG-accessible coefficient is found to be within 7% relative |error| of its true value for n_f leq 6, and is shown to be in exact agreement with its true value in the n_f \to \infty limit. Asymptotic Padé estimates are also obtained for the remaining (RG-inaccessible) three-loop coefficient. Comparison is also made with recent estimates of the three-loop contribution to the configuration-space static-potential function.
A mass scale $μ_c$ representing the boundary between effective theories of strong interactions and perturbative QCD (infrared and ultraviolet regimes) exists when the $β$-function is characterized by a simple pole. This behaviour, which is known to occur in N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories, leads to an infrared attractor in the evolution of the coupling constant, with the mass scale $μ_c$ of the attractor providing a natural boundary between the infrared and ultraviolet regimes. It is demonstrated that [2|2], [3|1] and [1|3] Pade-approximant versions of the three-flavour QCD $β$-function each contain a simple pole corresponding to such an infrared attractor. All three approximants, separately considered, are seen to lead to nearly equivalent estimates for the mass scale $μ_c$.
The three-loop contribution to the MS bar single-Higgs-doublet standard-model cross-section $σ(W_L^+ W_L^- \to Z_L Z_L)$ at s = (5M_H)^2 is estimated via least-squares matching of the asymptotic Pade-approximant prediction of the next order term, a procedure that has been previously applied to QCD corrections to correlation functions and decay amplitudes. In contrast to these prior applications, the expansion parameter for the W_L^+ W_L^- \to Z_L Z_L process is the non-asymptotically-free quartic scalar-field coupling of the standard model, suggesting that the least-squares matching be performed over the "infrared" mu^2 <= s region of the scale parameter. All three coefficients of logarithms within the three-loop term obtained by such matching are found to be within 6.6% relative error of their true values, as determined via renormalization-group methods. Surprisingly, almost identical results are obtained by performing the least squares matching over the mu^2 >= s region.
Known perturbative expressions for the decay rates of 115 GeV Higgs particle into either two gluons or a $b\bar{b}$ pair are shown to exhibit renormalization-scale-($μ$)-dependence that is largely removed via renormalization-group/Pade-approximant estimates of these rates' next order contributions. The extrema in $μ$ characterizing both rates, as determined from fully-known orders of perturbation theory, are very nearly equal to corresponding $μ$-insensitive rates obtained via estimation of their next order contributions, consistent with "minimal-sensitivity" expectations.
Pade-approximant treatments of the known terms of the QCD $β$-function are seen to develop possible infrared fixed point structure only if the number of fermion flavours is sufficiently large. This flavour threshold is seen to be between six and nine flavours, depending upon both the specific choice of approximant as well as on the presently-unknown five-loop $β$-function contribution. Below this flavour threshold, Pade approximants based upon the QCD $β$-function manifest the same infrared attractor structure as that which characterizes the exact NSVZ $β$-function of supersymmetric gluodynamics. Such infrared attractor structure is also seen to characterize Pade-approximant treatments of vector SU(N) gauge theory in the large $N$ limit, suggesting common infrared dynamics for the strong and weak phases of this theory.
Pade-approximant methods are used to estimate the three-loop perturbative contributions to the inclusive semileptonic $b \to u$ decay rate. These improved estimates of the decay rate reduce the theoretical uncertainty in the extraction of the CKM matrix element $|V_{ub}|$ from the measured inclusive semileptonic branching ratio.
Pade approximant methods are applied to known terms of the DRED beta- function for N = 1 supersymmetric SU(3) Yang-Mills theory. Each of the [N|M] approximants with N + M less than or equal to 4 (M not equal to zero) constructed from this series exhibits a positive pole which precedes any zeros of the approximant, consistent with the same infrared-attractor pole behaviour known to characterise the exact NSVZ beta-function. A similar Pade-approximant analysis of truncations of the NSVZ series is shown consistently to reproduce the geometric-series pole of the exact NSVZ beta function.
Utilizing asymptotic Pade-approximant methods, we estimate the three-loop order MS-bar coefficients of alpha_s^3[\log(μ^2/m^2_b(μ)]^k terms [k = {0,1,2,3}] within the $b \to u\ell^-\barν_\ell$ decay rate. Except for the coefficient of the k = 0 term, all other coefficients may also be obtained via renormalization-group (RG) methods. The relative errors in asymptotic Pade-approximant estimates of the k = {1,2,3} terms are found to be 5.1% or less, thereby providing an estimate of the theoretical uncertainty in the asymptotic Pade-approximant estimate of the RG-inaccessible k = 0 term. By a judicious choice in the renormalization scale parameter, we are able to extract |V_{ub}| from the inclusive decay rate to within 7% theoretical uncertainty.