QCD coupling up to third order in standard and analytic perturbation theories

We analyze two sets of specific functions, that/which form the basis of the nonpower asymptotic expansions both in the timelike and spacelike regions for single scale dependent QCD observables in the Shirkov--Solovtsov's Analytic Perturbation Theory (APT) free of unphysical singularities. These functions are explicitly derived up to the third order in the closed form in terms of the Lambert-W function. As an input we used the exact two loop and the three loop (corresponding to Pad\'e transformed beta-function) RG solutions for common invariant coupling \alpha_s. The elegant recurrence formulas, helpful for numerical analysis, are obtained for the both sets of the APT functions. Then we construct the global versions of APT functions using the continuity conditions (at the quark thresholds) on the \alpha_s in the \bar{MS} scheme and give numerical results. For first three of these functions \mathfrak{A}_n(s) and {\cal A}_n(Q^2); n=1,2,3 in the large interval of the momentum transfer and energy (1 GeV <Q,{\sqrt s}< 170 GeV), numerical tables are presented. From these we observe that, for the timelike arguments, the differences between functions \mathfrak{A}_n(s) and the corresponding powers of the standard iteratively approximated coupling \alpha_s^n(s) are not negligible even for moderate energies in the five--flavor region.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, 12 tables. Abstract is changed. The recurrence formulas (18)-(20) are added. Formula (35) corrected and Table 2 is revised. Misprint in formula (37) is corrected. Formula (38) adde

Bjorken Sum Rule and pQCD frontier on the move

The reasonableness of the use of perturbative QCD notions in the region close to the scale of hadronization, i.e., below \lesssim 1 \GeV is under study. First, the interplay between higher orders of pQCD expansion and higher twist contributions in the analysis of recent Jefferson Lab (JLab) data on the Generalized Bjorken Sum Rule function $\Gamma_1^{p-n} (Q^2)$ at $0.1<Q^2< 3 {\rm GeV}^2$ is studied. It is shown that the inclusion of the higher-order pQCD corrections could be absorbed, with good numerical accuracy, by change of the normalization of the higher-twist terms. Second, to avoid the issue of unphysical singularity (Landau pole at Q=\Lambda\sim 400 \MeV ), we deal with the ghost-free Analytic Perturbation Theory (APT) that recently proved to be an intriguing candidate for a quantitative description of light quarkonia spectra within the Bethe-Salpeter approach. The values of the twist coefficients $\mu_{2k}$ extracted from the mentioned data by using the APT approach provide a better convergence of the higher-twist series than with the common pQCD. As the main result, a good quantitative description of the JLab data down to $Q\simeq$ 350 MeV is achieved.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, minor change

On the infrared freezing of perturbative QCD in the Minkowskian region

The infrared freezing of observables is known to hold at fixed orders of perturbative QCD if the Minkowskian quantities are defined through the analytic continuation from the Euclidean region. In a recent paper [1] it is claimed that infrared freezing can be proved also for Borel resummed all-orders quantities in perturbative QCD. In the present paper we obtain the Minkowskian quantities by the analytic continuation of the all-orders Euclidean amplitudes expressed in terms of the inverse Mellin transform of the corresponding Borel functions [2]. Our result shows that if the principle of analytic continuation is preserved in Borel-type resummations, the Minkowskian quantities exhibit a divergent increase in the infrared regime, which contradicts the claim made in [1]. We discuss the arguments given in [1] and show that the special redefinition of Borel summation at low energies adopted there does not reproduce the lowest order result obtained by analytic continuation.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

Analytic Approach to Perturbative QCD

The two-loop invariant (running) coupling of QCD is written in terms of the Lambert W function. The analyticity structure of the coupling in the complex Q^2-plane is established. The corresponding analytic coupling is reconstructed via a dispersion relation. We also consider some other approximations to the QCD beta-function, when the corresponding couplings are solved in terms of the Lambert function. The Landau gauge gluon propagator has been considered in the renormalization group invariant analytic approach (IAA). It is shown that there is a nonperturbative ambiguity in determination of the anomalous dimension function of the gluon field. Several analytic solutions for the propagator at the one-loop order are constructed. Properties of the obtained analytical solutions are discussed.Comment: Latex-file, 19 pages, 2 tables, 51 references, to be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

A novel series solution to the renormalization group equation in QCD

Recently, the QCD renormalization group (RG) equation at higher orders in MS-like renormalization schemes has been solved for the running coupling as a series expansion in powers of the exact 2-loop order coupling. In this work, we prove that the power series converges to all orders in perturbation theory. Solving the RG equation at higher orders, we determine the running coupling as an implicit function of the 2-loop order running coupling. Then we analyze the singularity structure of the higher order coupling in the complex 2-loop coupling plane. This enables us to calculate the radii of convergence of the series solutions at the 3- and 4-loop orders as a function of the number of quark flavours $n_{\rm f}$. In parallel, we discuss in some detail the singularity structure of the ${\bar{\rm MS}}$ coupling at the 3- and 4-loops in the complex momentum squared plane for $0\leq n_{\rm f} \leq 16$. The correspondence between the singularity structure of the running coupling in the complex momentum squared plane and the convergence radius of the series solution is established. For sufficiently large $n_{\rm f}$ values, we find that the series converges for all values of the momentum squared variable $Q^2=-q^2>0$. For lower values of $n_{\rm f}$, in the ${\bar{\rm MS}}$ scheme, we determine the minimal value of the momentum squared $Q_{\rm min}^2$ above which the series converges. We study properties of the non-power series corresponding to the presented power series solution in the QCD Analytic Perturbation Theory approach of Shirkov and Solovtsov. The Euclidean and Minkowskian versions of the non-power series are found to be uniformly convergent over whole ranges of the corresponding momentum squared variables.Comment: 29 pages,LateX file, uses IOP LateX class file, 2 figures, 13 Tables. Formulas (4)-(7) and Table 1 were relegated to Appendix 1, some notations changed, 2 footnotes added. Clarifying discussion added at the end of Sect. 3, more references and acknowledgments added. Accepted for publication in Few-Body System