Abstract
Recently, $O(\alpha^3)$ corrections to the muon decay rate and $O(\alpha_s^3)$ to heavy quark decays have been determined by Fael, Sch\"onwald, and Steinhauser. This is the first such perturbative improvement of these important quantities in more than two decades. We reveal and explain a symmetry pattern in these new corrections, and confirm the most technically difficult parts of their evaluation.
Highlights
Muon decay provides one of the pillars of the Standard Model, the Fermi constant GF [1]
We reveal and explain a symmetry pattern in these new corrections, and confirm the most technically difficult parts of their evaluation
They served as a model for subsequent studies of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) processes in heavy quark decays [7,8]
Summary
Muon decay provides one of the pillars of the Standard Model, the Fermi constant GF [1]. Its determination relies on precise measurements of the muon lifetime [2,3] and mass [4], and on theoretical evaluation of radiative corrections. These corrections arise primarily from quantum electrodynamic (QED) interactions involving the muon and the daughter electron, and are expressed as a power series in the fine structure constant α ≃ 1=137. First-order corrections, calculated in 1955 [6], were the first loop effects calculated for a decay process They served as a model for subsequent studies of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) processes in heavy quark decays [7,8].
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