A formalism for the systematic treatment of rapidity logarithms in quantum field theory

Abstract

Many observables in QCD rely upon the resummation of perturbation theory to retain predictive power. Resummation follows after one factorizes the cross section into the relevant modes. The class of observables which are sensitive to soft recoil effects are particularly challenging to factorize and resum since they involve rapidity logarithms. Such observables include: transverse momentum distributions at pT much less then the high energy scattering scale, jet broadening, exclusive hadroproduction and decay, as well as the Sudakov form factor. In this paper we will present a formalism which allows one to factorize and resum the perturbative series for such observables in a systematic fashion through the notion of a "rapidity renormalization group". That is, a Collin-Soper like equation is realized as a renormalization group equation, but has a more universal applicability to observables beyond the traditional transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions (TMDPDFs) and the Sudakov form factor. This formalism has the feature that it allows one to track the (non-standard) scheme dependence which is inherent in any scenario where one performs a resummation of rapidity divergences. We present a pedagogical introduction to the formalism by applying it to the well-known massive Sudakov form factor. The formalism is then used to study observables of current interest. A factorization theorem for the transverse momentum distribution of Higgs production is presented along with the result for the resummed cross section at NLL. Our formalism allows one to define gauge invariant TMDPDFs which are independent of both the hard scattering amplitude and the soft function, i.e. they are universal. We present details of the factorization and resummation of the jet broadening cross section including a renormalization in p⊥ space. We furthermore show how to regulate and renormalize exclusive processes which are plagued by endpoint singularities in such a way as to allow for a consistent resummation. © SISSA 2012.