Double fermionic contributions to the heavy-quark vacuum polarization

We compute the virtual O(\alpha_s^3 n_f^2) corrections to the heavy quark vector current correlator in terms of expansions in the external momentum and as an exact numerical solution. As a byproduct, the available high-energy expansion at the three-loop level is extended.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Charm and Bottom Quark Masses from Perturbative QCD

Using a new result for the first moment of the hadronic production cross section at order ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^3)$, and new data on the $J/\psi$ and $\psi'$ resonances for the charm quark, we determine the \msb masses of the charm and bottom quarks to be $\bar{m}_c(\bar{m}_c) = 1.295 \pm 0.015$ GeV and $\bar{m}_b(\bar{m}_b) = 4.205 \pm 0.058$ GeV. We assume that the continuum contribution to the sum rules is adequately described by pQCD. While we observe a large reduction of the perturbative error, the shifts induced by the theoretical input are very small. The main change in the central value of $m_c$ is related to the experimental data. On the other hand, the value of $m_b$ is not changed by our calculation to the assumed precision.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, final version as publishe

Updated NNLO QCD predictions for the weak radiative B-meson decays

Weak radiative decays of the B mesons belong to the most important flavor changing processes that provide constraints on physics at the TeV scale. In the derivation of such constraints, accurate standard model predictions for the inclusive branching ratios play a crucial role. In the current Letter we present an update of these predictions, incorporating all our results for the O(alpha_s^2) and lower-order perturbative corrections that have been calculated after 2006. New estimates of nonperturbative effects are taken into account, too. For the CP- and isospin-averaged branching ratios, we find B_{s gamma} = (3.36 +_ 0.23) * 10^-4 and B_{d gamma} = 1.73^{+0.12}_{-0.22} * 10^-5, for E_gamma > 1.6GeV. Both results remain in agreement with the current experimental averages. Normalizing their sum to the inclusive semileptonic branching ratio, we obtain R_gamma = ( B_{s gamma} + B_{d gamma})/B_{c l nu} = (3.31 +_ 0.22) * 10^-3. A new bound from B_{s gamma} on the charged Higgs boson mass in the two-Higgs-doublet-model II reads M_{H^+} > 480 GeV at 95%C.L.Comment: journal version, 5 pages, no figure

The ( Q 7 , Q 1 , 2 ) contribution to B ¯ → X s γ B¯¯¯→Xsγ at O α s 2 O(α2s)

Interference between the photonic dipole operator Q 7 and the current-current operators Q 1,2 gives one of the most important QCD corrections to the ( B ¯ → X s γ B¯¯¯→Xsγ decay rate. So far, the O α s 2 O(α2s) ) part of this correction has been known in the heavy charm quark limit only ( m c ≫ m b / 2). Here, we evaluate this part at m c = 0, and use both limits in an updated phenomenological study. Our prediction for the CP- and isospin-averaged branching ratio in the Standard Model reads ℬ s γ S M = 3.36 ± 0.23 × 1 0 − 4 BSMsγ=(3.36±0.23)×10−4 for E γ > 1 . 6 GeV

Four-Loop Tadpoles: Applications in QCD

Recent applications of single-scale four-loop tadpoles are briefly reviewed. An algorithm for the evaluation of current correlators based on differential equations is described and applied to obtain high moments of the vacuum polarization function at O(alphas^2) as a preparation of O(alphas^3) calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of the 8th DESY Workshop on Elementary Particle Theory, Loops and Legs in Quantum Field Theory, April 23-28, 2006, Eisenach, German

Towards W b bbar + j at NLO with an automatized approach to one-loop computations

We present results for the O(alpha_s) virtual corrections to q g -> W b bbar q' obtained with a new automatized approach to the evaluation of one-loop amplitudes in terms of Feynman diagrams. Together with the O(alpha_s) corrections to q q' -> W b bbar g, which can be obtained from our results by crossing symmetry, this represents the bulk of the next-to-leading order virtual QCD corrections to W b bbar + j and W b + j hadronic production, calculated in a fixed-flavor scheme with four light flavors. Furthermore, these corrections represent a well defined and independent subset of the 1-loop amplitudes needed for the NNLO calculation of W b bbar. Our approach was tested against several existing results for NLO amplitudes including selected O(alpha_s) one-loop corrections to W + 3 j hadronic production. We discuss the efficiency of our method both with respect to evaluation time and numerical stability.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure