Mearsurement of αs\alpha_s and the β\beta function with the DELPHI detector at LEP

Event shape distributions in $e^+e^-$ annihilation are determined from the DELPHI data taken between 183 and 207\gev. From these the strong coupling $\alpha_s$ is extracted with several techniques. Together with the results from other LEP2 energies and at about $m_Z$ this allows both, a combined measurement of $\alpha_s$ and a test of the scale dependence of the strong interaction. Alternatively the renormalisation group invariant (RGI) perturbation theory is applied to measure the $\beta$ function of strong interaction. The results are good agreement with the QCD expectation and allow to exclude the existence of light gluinos with a mass below 30\gev in a model independent way.Comment: Talk presented at the QCD02 conference, Montpellier 200

A nonperturbative model for the strong running coupling within potential approach

A nonperturbative model for the QCD invariant charge, which contains no low-energy unphysical singularities and possesses an elevated higher loop corrections stability, is developed in the framework of potential approach. The static quark-antiquark potential is constructed by making use of the proposed model for the strong running coupling. The obtained result coincides with the perturbative potential at small distances and agrees with relevant lattice simulation data in the nonperturbative physically-relevant region. The developed model yields a reasonable value of the QCD scale parameter, which is consistent with its previous estimations obtained within potential approach.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Hadronization effects in event shape moments

We study the moments of hadronic event shapes in $e^+e^-$ annihilation within the context of next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) perturbative QCD predictions combined with non-perturbative power corrections in the dispersive model. This model is extended to match upon the NNLO perturbative prediction. The resulting theoretical expression has been compared to experimental data from JADE and OPAL, and a new value for $\alpha_s(M_Z)$ has been determined, as well as of the average coupling $\alpha_0$ in the non-perturbative region below $\mu_I=2$ GeV within the dispersive model: \alpha_s(M_Z)&=0.1153\pm0.0017(\mathrm{exp})\pm0.0023(\mathrm{th}),\alpha_0&=0.5132\pm0.0115(\mathrm{exp})\pm0.0381(\mathrm{th}), The precision of the $\alpha_s(M_Z)$ value has been improved in comparison to the previously available next-to-leading order analysis. We observe that the resulting power corrections are considerably larger than those estimated from hadronization models in multi-purpose event generator programs.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, 15 tables. Few minor changes. Version accepted for publication in European Physical Journal C

Approximate NNLO Threshold Resummation in Heavy Flavour Decays

We present an approximate NNLO evaluation of the QCD form factor resumming large logarithmic perturbative contributions in semi-inclusive heavy flavour decays.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, Latex; minor changes; 2 figures adde

Factorization Properties of Soft Graviton Amplitudes

We apply recently developed path integral resummation methods to perturbative quantum gravity. In particular, we provide supporting evidence that eikonal graviton amplitudes factorize into hard and soft parts, and confirm a recent hypothesis that soft gravitons are modelled by vacuum expectation values of products of certain Wilson line operators, which differ for massless and massive particles. We also investigate terms which break this factorization, and find that they are subleading with respect to the eikonal amplitude. The results may help in understanding the connections between gravity and gauge theories in more detail, as well as in studying gravitational radiation beyond the eikonal approximation.Comment: 35 pages, 5 figure

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

Toward a Systematic Holographic QCD: A Braneless Approach

Recently a holographic model of hadrons motivated by AdS/CFT has been proposed to fit the low energy data of mesons. We point out that the infrared physics can be developed in a more systematic manner by exploiting backreaction of the nonperturbative condensates. We show that these condensates can naturally provide the IR cutoff corresponding to confinement, thus removing some of the ambiguities from the original formulation of the model. We also show how asymptotic freedom can be incorporated into the theory, and the substantial effect it has on the glueball spectrum and gluon condensate of the theory. A simple reinterpretation of the holographic scale results in a non-perturbative running for alpha_s which remains finite for all energies. We also find the leading effects of adding the higher condensate into the theory. The difficulties for such models to reproduce the proper Regge physics lead us to speculate about extensions of our model incorporating tachyon condensation.Comment: 27 pages, LaTe

Bootstrapping the QCD soft anomalous dimension

SCOAP

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

The Adler Function for Light Quarks in Analytic Perturbation Theory

The method of analytic perturbation theory, which avoids the problem of ghost-pole type singularities and gives a self-consistent description of both spacelike and timelike regions, is applied to describe the "light" Adler function corresponding to the non-strange vector channel of the inclusive decay of the $\tau$ lepton. The role of threshold effects is investigated. The behavior of the quark-antiquark system near threshold is described by using a new relativistic resummation factor. It is shown that the method proposed leads to good agreement with the ``experimental'' Adler function down to the lowest energy scale.Comment: 13 pages, one ps figure, REVTe