Pole Mass, Width, and Propagators of Unstable Fermions

The concepts of pole mass and width are extended to unstable fermions in the general framework of parity-nonconserving gauge theories, such as the Standard Model. In contrast with the conventional on-shell definitions, these concepts are gauge independent and avoid severe unphysical singularities, properties of great importance since most fundamental fermions in nature are unstable particles. General expressions for the unrenormalized and renormalized dressed propagators of unstable fermions and their field-renormalization constants are presented.Comment: 9 page

Finite-width effects in the near-threshold ZZZ and ZWW production at ILC

We calculate the cross-section of the near-threshold off-shell $ZZZ$ and $ZW^+W^-$ production at the International Linear Collider taking into account their instability and the principal part of NLO corrections. The calculations are performed in the framework of the model of unstable particles with smeared mass-shell. We show that the contribution of the finite $Z/W$ and $H$ widths (their instability) is large in the Higgs resonance range and should be taken into account in the Higgs boson searches at future colliders.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Constraints on R-parity violating couplings from LEP/SLD hadronic observables

We analyze the one loop corrections to hadronic Z decays in an R-parity violating extension to the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). Performing a global fit to all the hadronic observables at the Z-peak, we obtain stringent constraints on the R-violating couplings constants lambda' and lambda''. As a result of the strong constraints from the b asymmetry parameters A_b and A_FB(b), we find that the couplings lambda'{i31}, lambda'{i32}, and lambda''{321} are ruled out at the 1 sigma level, and that lambda'{i33} and lambda''{33i} are ruled out at the 2 sigma level. We also obtain Bayesian confidence limits for the R-violating couplings.Comment: 30 pages, 19 postscript figures, REVTeX, new section 8 on Bayesian confidence limits adde

QED Corrections to the Scattering of Solar Neutrinos and Electrons

We discuss recent calculations of the O(alpha) QED corrections to the recoil electron energy spectrum in neutrino electron scattering, and to the spectrum of the combined energy of the recoil electron and a possible accompanying photon emitted in the scattering process. We then examine the role of these corrections in the interpretation of precise measurements from solar neutrino electron scattering experiments.Comment: (16 Pages, 4 Figures) Presented at the Symposium in Honor of Professor Alberto Sirlin's 70th Birthday: ``50 Years of Precision Electroweak Physics'', New York University, October 27-28, 200

Constraints on R-parity violating couplings from lepton universality

We analyze the one loop corrections to leptonic W and Z decays in an R-parity violating extension to the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We find that lepton universality violation in the Z line-shape variables alone would strengthen the bounds on the magnitudes of the lambda' couplings, but a global fit on all data leaves the bounds virtually unchanged at |lambda'_{33k}| < 0.42 and |lambda'_{23k}| < 0.50 at the 2 sigma level. Bounds from W decays are less stringent: |lambda'_{33k}| < 2.4 at 2 sigma, as a consequence of the weaker Fermilab experimental bounds on lepton universality violation in W decays. We also point out the potential of constraining R-parity violating couplings from the measurement of the Upsilon invisible width.Comment: 26pages, 8 postscript figures, REVTeX. Updated references. Typos correcte

Resonance Propagation and Threshold Singularities

We consider the problem of propagation of an unstable particle in the framework of Quantum Field Theory. Using unitarity, we show that a real renormalization constant free of threshold singularities naturally arises.Comment: 5 pages, no figures, revte

QED Corrections to Neutrino Electron Scattering

We evaluate the O(alpha) QED corrections to the recoil electron energy spectrum in the process nu_l + e --> nu_l + e (+gamma), where (+gamma) indicates the possible emission of a photon and l=e, mu or tau. The soft and hard bremsstrahlung differential cross sections are computed for an arbitrary value of the photon energy threshold. We also study the O(alpha) QED corrections to the differential cross section with respect to the total combined energy of the recoil electron and a possible accompanying photon. Their difference from the corrections to the electron spectrum is investigated. We discuss the relevance and applicability of both radiative corrections, emphasizing their role in the analysis of precise solar neutrino electron scattering experiments.Comment: 14 pages + 10 figures. Minimal changes, published versio

Radiative Corrections to Longitudinal and Transverse Gauge Boson and Higgs Production

Radiative corrections to gauge boson and Higgs production computed recently using soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) require the one-loop high-scale matching coefficients in the standard model. We give explicit expressions for the matching coefficients for the effective field theory (EFT) operators for q qbar -> VV and q qbar -> phi^+ phi for a general gauge theory with an arbitrary number of gauge groups. The group theory factors are given explicitly for the standard model, including both QCD and electroweak corrections.Comment: 16 pages, 49 figure

Four-fermion production with RACOONWW

RACOONWW is an event generator for e+e- --> WW --> 4fermions(+gamma) that includes full tree-level predictions for e+e- --> 4f and e+e- --> 4f+gamma as well as O(alpha) corrections to e+e- --> 4f in the so-called double-pole approximation. We briefly sketch the concept of the calculation on which this generator is based and present some numerical results.Comment: 9 pages, latex, 6 postscript files, to appear in the proceedings of the UK Phenomenology Workshop on Collider Physics, Durham, UK, 19-24 September, 199

Electroweak and QCD corrections to Higgs production via vector-boson fusion at the LHC

The radiative corrections of the strong and electroweak interactions are calculated at next-to-leading order for Higgs-boson production in the weak-boson-fusion channel at hadron colliders. Specifically, the calculation includes all weak-boson fusion and quark--antiquark annihilation diagrams to Higgs-boson production in association with two hard jets, including all corresponding interferences. The results on the QCD corrections confirm that previously made approximations of neglecting s-channel diagrams and interferences are well suited for predictions of Higgs production with dedicated vector-boson fusion cuts at the LHC. The electroweak corrections, which also include real corrections from incoming photons and leading heavy-Higgs-boson effects at two-loop order, are of the same size as the QCD corrections, viz. typically at the level of 5-10% for a Higgs-boson mass up to \sim 700 GeV. In general, both types of corrections do not simply rescale differential distributions, but induce distortions at the level of 10%. The discussed corrections have been implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo event generator.Comment: 33 pages, LaTeX, 24 postscript figure