Decoupling of heavy quarks in quantum chromodynamics

Abstract

Decoupling of heavy quarks in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) defined by mass-independent renormalization is investigated. The structure of the relations between the parameters of f flavour QCD and the parameters of the effective f − 1 flavour QCD below a heavy-quark threshold is discussed to all orders in the loop expansion, and the relations are computed to two-loop approximation for the minimal subtraction schemes (MS) and to one-loop approximation for some Weinberg schemes. These matching relations can be used to systematically determine the renormalization group (RG)-invariant parameters of the effective theory in terms of the RG-invariant parameters of the theory which includes the heavy quark, or vice versa. For the MS scheme the connection between Λ f − 1 nad Λ f to two and three loops is given as well as the two-loop connection between the RG-invariant mass parameters of the f − 1 and f flavour theory. The effect of heavy quarks on the evolution of the QCD coupling is of significance for present QCD phenomenology based on next-to-leading-order perturbation theory. This is illustrated with a few examples within the MS scheme.