Weak decays beyond leading logarithms

Gerhard Buchalla; Andrzej J. Buras; Markus E. Lautenbacher

doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.68.1125

Weak decays beyond leading logarithms

Gerhard Buchalla, Andrzej J. Buras, and Markus E. Lautenbacher

Rev. Mod. Phys. 68, 1125 – Published 1 October 1996

Abstract

We review the present status of QCD corrections to weak decays beyond the leading-logarithmic approximation, including particle-antiparticle mixing and rare and $CP$ -violating decays. After presenting the basic formalism for these calculations we discuss in detail the effective Hamiltonians of all decays for which the next-to-leading-order corrections are known. Subsequently, we present the phenomenological implications of these calculations. The values of various parameters are updated, in particular the mass of the newly discovered top quark. One of the central issues in this review are the theoretical uncertainties related to renormalization-scale ambiguities, which are substantially reduced by including next-to-leading-order corrections. The impact of this theoretical improvement on the determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix is then illustrated. [S0034-6861(96)00304-2]

Received 6 June 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.68.1125

Authors & Affiliations

Gerhard Buchalla^*

Theoretical Physics Department, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, Illinois 60510

Andrzej J. Buras^†

Physik Department, Technische Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany and Max-Planck-Institut für Physik, Werner-Heisenberg-Institut, Föhringer Ring 6, D-80805 München, Germany

Markus E. Lautenbacher^‡

Physik Department, Technische Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Theory Group, Stanford University, P.O. Box 4349, Stanford, California 94309

^*Electronic address: buchalla@fnth20.fnal.gov
^†Electronic address: buras@feynman.t30.physik.tu-muenchen.de
^‡Electronic address: lauten@feynman.t30.physik.tu-muenchen.de