On power corrections to the event shape distributions in QCD

We study power corrections to the differential thrust, heavy jet mass and C-parameter distributions in the two-jet kinematical region in e^+e^- annihilation. We argue that away from the end-point region, e>> \Lambda_{QCD}/Q, the leading 1/Q-power corrections are parameterized by a single nonperturbative scale while for e \Lambda_{QCD}/Q one encounters a novel regime in which power corrections of the form 1/(Qe)^n have to be taken into account for arbitrary n. These nonperturbative corrections can be resummed and factor out into a universal nonperturbative distribution, the shape function, and the differential event shape distributions are given by convolution of the shape function with perturbative cross-sections. Choosing a simple ansatz for the shape function we demonstrate a good agreement of the obtained QCD predictions for the distributions and their lowest moments with the existing data over a wide energy interval.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX style, 4 figure

Four-point correlation function of stress-energy tensors in N=4 superconformal theories

We derive the explicit expression for the four-point correlation function of stress-energy tensors in four-dimensional N=4 superconformal theory. We show that it has a remarkably simple and suggestive form allowing us to predict a large class of four-point correlation functions involving the stress-energy tensor and other conserved currents. We then apply the obtained results on the correlation functions to computing the energy-energy correlations, which measure the flow of energy in the final states created from the vacuum by a source. We demonstrate that they are given by a universal function independent of the choice of the source. Our analysis relies only on N=4 superconformal symmetry and does not use the dynamics of the theory.Comment: 31 pages; v2: references adde

Resummation of Large Endpoint Corrections to Color-Octet J/psi Photoproduction

An unresolved problem in J/psi phenomenology is a systematic understanding of the differential photoproduction cross section, dsigma/dz [gamma + p -> J/psi + X], where z= E_psi/E_gamma in the proton rest frame. In the non-relativistic QCD (NRQCD) factorization formalism, fixed-order perturbative calculations of color-octet mechanisms suffer from large perturbative and nonperturbative corrections that grow rapidly in the endpoint region, z -> 1. In this paper, NRQCD and soft collinear effective theory are combined to resum these large corrections to the color-octet photoproduction cross section. We derive a factorization theorem for the endpoint differential cross section involving the parton distribution function and the color-octet J/psi shape functions. A one loop matching calculation explicitly confirms our factorization theorem at next-to-leading order. Large perturbative corrections are resummed using the renormalization group. The calculation of the color-octet contribution to dsigma/dz is in qualitative agreement with data. Quantitative tests of the universality of color-octet matrix elements require improved knowledge of shape functions entering these calculations as well as resummation of the color-singlet contribution which accounts for much of the total cross section and also peaks near the endpoint.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure

Enhanced nonperturbative effects in jet distributions

We consider the triple differential distribution d\Gamma/(dE_J)(dm_J^2)(d\Omega_J) for two-jet events at center of mass energy M, smeared over the endpoint region m_J^2 << M^2, |2 E_J -M| ~ \Delta, \lqcd << \Delta << M. The leading nonperturbative correction, suppressed by \lqcd/\Delta, is given by the matrix element of a single operator. A similar analysis is performed for three jet events, and the generalization to any number of jets is discussed. At order \lqcd/\Delta, non-perturbative effects in four or more jet events are completely determined in terms of two matrix elements which can be measured in two and three jet events.Comment: Significant changes made. The first moment does not vanish--the paper has been modified to reflect this. Relations between different numbers of jets still hol