Exponentially Modified QCD Coupling

We present a specific class of models for an infrared-finite analytic QCD coupling, such that at large space-like energy scales the coupling differs from the perturbative one by less than any inverse power of the energy scale. This condition is motivated by the ITEP Operator Product Expansion philosophy. Allowed by the ambiguity in the analytization of the perturbative coupling, the proposed class of couplings has three parameters. In the intermediate energy region, the proposed coupling has low loop-level and renormalization scheme dependence. The present modification of perturbative QCD must be considered as a phenomenological attempt, with the aim of enlarging the applicability range of the theory of the strong interactions at low energies.Comment: two references adde

Bound state approach to the QCD coupling at low energy scales

We exploit theoretical results on the meson spectrum within the framework of a Bethe-Salpeter (BS) formalism adjusted for QCD, in order to extract an ``experimental'' coupling \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) below 1 GeV by comparison with the data. Our results for \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) exhibit a good agreement with the infrared safe Analytic Perturbation Theory (APT) coupling from 1 GeV down to 200 MeV. As a main result, we claim that the combined BS-APT theoretical scheme provides us with a rather satisfactory correlated understanding of very high and low energy phenomena.Comment: Revised version, to appear on Physical Review Letters. 7 pages, 2 figures, Revte

QCD coupling below 1 GeV from quarkonium spectrum

In this paper we extend the work synthetically presented in Ref.[1] and give theoretical details and complete tables of numerical results. We exploit calculations within a Bethe-Salpeter (BS) formalism adjusted for QCD, in order to extract an ``experimental'' strong coupling \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) below 1 GeV by comparison with the meson spectrum. The BS potential follows from a proper ansatz on the Wilson loop to encode confinement and is the sum of a one-gluon-exchange and a confinement terms. Besides, the common perturbative strong coupling is replaced by the ghost-free expression \alpha_E(Q^2) according to the prescription of Analytic Perturbation Theory (APT). The agreement of \alpha_s^{exp}(Q^2) with the APT coupling \alpha_E(Q^2) turns out to be reasonable from 1 GeV down to the 200 MeV scale, thus confirming quantitatively the validity of the APT prescription. Below this scale, the experimental points could give a hint on the vanishing of \alpha_s(Q^2) as Q approaches zero. This infrared behaviour would be consistent with some lattice results and a ``massive'' generalization of the APT approach. As a main result, we claim that the combined BS-APT theoretical scheme provides us with a rather satisfactory correlated understanding of very high and rather low energy phenomena from few hundreds MeV to few hundreds GeV.Comment: Preliminary revision. Typos corrected, comments and references adde

Extended analytic QCD model with perturbative QCD behavior at high momenta

In contrast to perturbative QCD, the analytic QCD models have running coupling whose analytic properties correctly mirror those of spacelike observables. The discontinuity (spectral) function of such running coupling is expected to agree with the perturbative case at large timelike momenta; however, at low timelike momenta it is not known. In the latter regime, we parametrize the unknown behavior of the spectral function as a sum of (two) delta functions; while the onset of the perturbative behavior of the spectral function is set to be 1.0-1.5 GeV. This is in close analogy with the "minimal hadronic ansatz" used in the literature for modeling spectral functions of correlators. For the running coupling itself, we impose the condition that it basically merges with the perturbative coupling at high spacelike momenta. In addition, we require that the well-measured nonstrange semihadronic (V+A) tau decay ratio value be reproduced by the model. We thus obtain a QCD framework which is basically indistinguishable from perturbative QCD at high momenta (Q > 1 GeV), and at low momenta it respects the basic analyticity properties of spacelike observables as dictated by the general principles of the local quantum field theories.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures; in v2 Sec.IV is extended after Eq.(48) and refs.[51-52] added; v2 published in Phys.Rev.D85,114043(2012

Analytic Perturbation Theory for Practitioners and Upsilon Decay

Within the ghost-free Analytic Perturbation Theory (APT), devised in the last decade for low energy QCD, simple approximations are proposed for 3-loop analytic couplings and their effective powers, in both the space-like (Euclidean) and time-like (Minkowskian) regions, accurate enough in the large range (1--100 GeV) of current physical interest.\par Effectiveness of the new Model is illustrated by the example of $\Upsilon(1\mathrm{S})$ decay where the standard analysis gives $\alpha_s(M_{\Upsilon})=0.170\pm 0.004$ value that is inconsistent with the bulk of data for $\alpha_s$. Instead, we obtain $\alpha_s^{Mod}(M_{\Upsilon})=0.185\pm 0.005$ that corresponds to $\alpha_s^{Mod}(M_Z)=0.120\pm 0.002$ that is close to the world average.\par The issue of scale uncertainty for $\Upsilon$ decay is also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 0 figures. Model slightly modified to increase its accuracy. Numerical results upgraded, references added. The issue of scale uncertainty is discusse

Analogs of noninteger powers in general analytic QCD

In contrast to the coupling parameter in the usual perturbative QCD (pQCD), the coupling parameter in the analytic QCD models has cuts only on the negative semiaxis of the Q^2-plane (where q^2 = -Q^2 is the momentum squared), thus reflecting correctly the analytic structure of the spacelike observables. The Minimal Analytic model (MA, named also APT) of Shirkov and Solovtsov removes the nonphysical cut (at positive Q^2) of the usual pQCD coupling and keeps the pQCD cut discontinuity of the coupling at negative Q^2 unchanged. In order to evaluate in MA the physical QCD quantities whose perturbation expansion involves noninteger powers of the pQCD coupling, a specific method of construction of MA analogs of noninteger pQCD powers was developed by Bakulev, Mikhailov and Stefanis (BMS). We present a construction, applicable now in any analytic QCD model, of analytic analogs of noninteger pQCD powers; this method generalizes the BMS approach obtained in the framework of MA. We need to know only the discontinuity function of the analytic coupling (the analog of the pQCD coupling) along its cut in order to obtain the analytic analogs of the noninteger powers of the pQCD coupling, as well as their timelike (Minkowskian) counterparts. As an illustration, we apply the method to the evaluation of the width for the Higgs decay into b+(bar b) pair.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures; sections II and III extended, appendix B is ne