We present analytical results for the $N_f^4$ and $N_f^3$ terms of the five-loop Beta function, for a general gauge group. While the former term agrees with results available from large-$N_f$ studies, the latter is new and extends the value known for SU(3) from an independent calculation.
We have computed the five-loop corrections to the scale dependence of the renormalized coupling constant for Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), its generalization to non-Abelian gauge theories with a simple compact Lie group, and for Quantum Electrodynamics (QED). Our analytical result, obtained using the background field method, infrared rearrangement via a new diagram-by-diagram implementation of the R* operation and the Forcer program for massless four-loop propagators, confirms the QCD and QED results obtained by only one group before. The numerical size of the five-loop corrections is briefly discussed in the standard MSbar scheme for QCD with n_f flavours and for pure SU(N) Yang-Mills theory. Their effect in QCD is much smaller than the four-loop contributions, even at rather low scales.
For arbitrary four-dimensional quantum field theories with scalars and fermions, renormalisation group equations in the $overline{text{MS}}$ scheme are investigated at three-loop order in perturbation theory. Collecting literature results, general expressions are obtained for field anomalous dimensions, Yukawa interactions, as well as fermion masses. The renormalisation group evolution of scalar quartic, cubic and mass terms is determined up to a few unknown coefficients. The combined results are applied to compute the renormalisation group evolution of the gaugeless Litim-Sannino model.
We briefly report our calculation of the 2-loop coefficient of the coupling constant renormalization function Z_g in lattice perturbation theory. The quantity under study is defined through g_0 = Z_g g, where g_0 (g) is the bare (renormalized) coupling constant. The 2-loop expression for Z_g can be directly related to the 3-loop bare beta-function beta_L(g_0). Our calculation is performed using overlap fermions and Wilson gluons, and the background field technique has been chosen for convenience. Our results depend explicitly on the number of fermion flavors (N_f) and colors (N). Since the dependence of Z_g on the overlap parameter rho cannot be extracted analytically, we tabulate our results for different values of rho in the allowed range (0<rho<2), focusing on values which are being used most frequently in simulations. Plots of the 1- and 2-loop results for Z_g versus rho exhibit a nontrivial dependence on the overlap parameter. A longer write-up of this work may be found in 0709.4368.
We analize the impact of two-loop renormalization group equations on the $SU(3)_ctimes SU(2)_wtimes U(1)_Y$ gauge couplings unification in various supersymmetric theories. In general the presence of superfields in higher representation than the doublet spoil the gauge couplings unification at one-loop. The situation is more interesting when the renormalization group equations are calculated at two-loop. In this case we show that the unification of the gauge couplings can be achieved for models with triplet superfield(s). In the analysis of the models with triplet superfield(s) we show that the dimensionless couplings do not have a Landau pole in their evolution at high energies but they run to a nontrivial ultraviolet fixed point.
We provide an update on a long-term project that aims at evaluating massive vacuum integrals at the five-loop frontier, with high precision and in various space-time dimensions. A number of applications are sketched, mainly concerning the determination of anomalous dimensions, for quantum field theories in four, three and two dimensions.