Analytical and numerical methods for massive two-loop self-energy diagrams

Motivated by the precision results in the electroweak theory studies of two-loopFeynman diagrams are performed. Specifically this paper gives a contribution to the knowledge of massive two-loop self-energy diagrams in arbitrary and especially four dimensions.This is done in three respects firstly results in terms of generalized, multivariable hypergeometric functions are presented giving explicit series for small and large momenta. Secondly the imaginary parts of these integrals are expressed as complete elliptic integrals.Finally one-dimensional integral representations with elementary functions are derived.They are very well suited for the numerical evaluations.Comment: 24 page

Reduction and evaluation of two-loop graphs with arbitrary masses

We describe a general analytic-numerical reduction scheme for evaluating any 2-loop diagrams with general kinematics and general renormalizable interactions, whereby ten special functions form a complete set after tensor reduction. We discuss the symmetrical analytic structure of these special functions in their integral representation, which allows for optimized numerical integration. The process Z -> bb is used for illustration, for which we evaluate all the 3-point, non-factorizable g^2*alpha_s mixed electroweak-QCD graphs, which depend on the top quark mass. The isolation of infrared singularities is detailed, and numerical results are given for all two-loop three-point graphs involved in this process

Small-threshold behaviour of two-loop self-energy diagrams: some special cases

An algorithm to construct analytic approximations to two-loop diagrams describing their behaviour at small non-zero thresholds is discussed. For some special cases (involving two different-scale mass parameters), several terms of the expansion are obtained.Comment: 7 pages, plain latex; talk given at DESY-Zeuthen Workshop "QCD and QED in Higher Order", Rheinsberg, April 1996, to appear in Proceeding

Two-loop scalar self-energies in a general renormalizable theory at leading order in gauge couplings

I present results for the two-loop self-energy functions for scalars in a general renormalizable field theory, using mass-independent renormalization schemes based on dimensional regularization and dimensional reduction. The results are given in terms of a minimal set of loop-integral basis functions, which are readily evaluated numerically by computers. This paper contains the contributions corresponding to the Feynman diagrams with zero or one vector propagator lines. These are the ones needed to obtain the pole masses of the neutral and charged Higgs scalar bosons in supersymmetry, neglecting only the purely electroweak parts at two-loop order. A subsequent paper will present the results for the remaining diagrams, which involve two or more vector lines.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures, revtex4, axodraw.sty. Version 2: sentence after eq. (A.13) corrected, references added. Version 3: typos in eqs. (5.17), (5.20), (5.21), (5.32) are corrected. Also, the MSbar versions of eqs. (5.32) and (5.33) are now include

Dispersive calculation of the massless multi-loop sunrise diagram

The massless sunrise diagram with an arbitrary number of loops is calculated in a simple but formal manner. The result is then verified by rigorous mathematical treatment. Pitfalls in the calculation with distributions are highlighted and explained. The result displays the high energy behaviour of the massive sunrise diagrams, whose calculation is involved already for the two-loop case.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, LATEX, uses kluwer.cls, some references adde

Finite calculation of divergent selfenergy diagrams

Using dispersive techniques, it is possible to avoid ultraviolet divergences in the calculation of Feynman diagrams, making subsequent regularization of divergent diagrams unnecessary. We give a simple introduction to the most important features of such dispersive techniques in the framework of the so-called finite causal perturbation theory. The method is also applied to the 'divergent' general massive two-loop sunrise selfenergy diagram, where it leads directly to an analytic expression for the imaginary part of the diagram in accordance with the literature, whereas the real part can be obtained by a single integral dispersion relation. It is pointed out that dispersive methods have been known for decades and have been applied to several nontrivial Feynman diagram calculations.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, one figure, added reference

Calculation of two-loop self-energies in the electroweak Standard Model

Motivated by the results of the electroweak precision experiments, studies of two-loop self-energy Feynman diagrams are performed. An algebraic method for the reduction of all two-loop self-energies to a set of standard scalar integrals is presented. The gauge dependence of the self-energies is discussed and an extension of the pinch technique to the two-loop level is worked out. It is shown to yield a special case of the background-field method which provides a general framework for deriving Green functions with desirable theoretical properties. The massive scalar integrals of self-energy type are expressed in terms of generalized multivariable hypergeometric functions. The imaginary parts of these integrals yield complete elliptic integrals. Finally, one-dimensional integral representations with elementary integrands are derived which are well suited for numerical evaluation.Comment: LaTeX, 21 pages, postscript files of four figures added as uuencoded tar-compressed file, to appear in Nucl. Phys. B (Proceedings Supplements), INLO-PUB-17/9

Evaluation of two-loop self-energy basis integrals using differential equations

I study the Feynman integrals needed to compute two-loop self-energy functions for general masses and external momenta. A convenient basis for these functions consists of the four integrals obtained at the end of Tarasov's recurrence relation algorithm. The basis functions are modified here to include one-loop and two-loop counterterms to render them finite; this simplifies the presentation of results in practical applications. I find the derivatives of these basis functions with respect to all squared-mass arguments, the renormalization scale, and the external momentum invariant, and express the results algebraically in terms of the basis. This allows all necessary two-loop self-energy integrals to be efficiently computed numerically using the differential equation in the external momentum invariant. I also use the differential equations method to derive analytic forms for various special cases, including a four-propagator integral with three distinct non-zero masses