Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCD

Abstract We perform a detailed theoretical study of the rare radiative decay of the W boson into a B c meson and an on-shell photon. The decay amplitude is described by two independent form factors, which are calculated up to the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD within the nonrelativistic...

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Main Authors: Xin-Qiang Li, Ya-Dong Yang, Yu-Dong Zhang, Dong-Hui Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of High Energy Physics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2025)042
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author Xin-Qiang Li
Ya-Dong Yang
Yu-Dong Zhang
Dong-Hui Zheng
author_facet Xin-Qiang Li
Ya-Dong Yang
Yu-Dong Zhang
Dong-Hui Zheng
author_sort Xin-Qiang Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract We perform a detailed theoretical study of the rare radiative decay of the W boson into a B c meson and an on-shell photon. The decay amplitude is described by two independent form factors, which are calculated up to the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD within the nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD) factorization formalism. Since the two typical energy scales, the W -boson mass m W and the B c -meson mass m B c $$ {m}_{B_c} $$ , involved in the process are widely separated, large logarithms of m W 2 / m B c 2 $$ {m}_W^2/{m}_{B_c}^2 $$ present in the NRQCD short-distance coefficients are also resummed to all orders in α s up to the next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) accuracy, by employing the light-cone factorization approach. Taking into account all these corrections, we then perform a phenomenological exploration of this rare decay. It is found that, relative to the leading-order result, the decay width of the process is reduced by the next-to-leading-order and NNLO corrections, with a net effect of ∼ −19% and of ∼ −31%, respectively. Furthermore, the NLL resummation can considerably alter the fixed-order NRQCD predictions, especially for the 𝒪(α s ) correction. We also find that the radiative corrections increase the renormalization scale dependence of the branching fraction, which is however significantly reduced by the NLL resummation. The dependence of the branching fraction on the heavy-quark masses m b,c is also investigated, which shows a monotonic decrease (increase) with m c (m b ).
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spelling doaj-art-667b94d052a2489591b5ceef0f18f06e2025-08-20T03:45:44ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792025-07-012025713010.1007/JHEP07(2025)042Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCDXin-Qiang Li0Ya-Dong Yang1Yu-Dong Zhang2Dong-Hui Zheng3Institute of Particle Physics and Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE), Central China Normal UniversityInstitute of Particle Physics and Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE), Central China Normal UniversityInstitute of Particle Physics and Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE), Central China Normal UniversityInstitute of Particle Physics and Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE), Central China Normal UniversityAbstract We perform a detailed theoretical study of the rare radiative decay of the W boson into a B c meson and an on-shell photon. The decay amplitude is described by two independent form factors, which are calculated up to the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD within the nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD) factorization formalism. Since the two typical energy scales, the W -boson mass m W and the B c -meson mass m B c $$ {m}_{B_c} $$ , involved in the process are widely separated, large logarithms of m W 2 / m B c 2 $$ {m}_W^2/{m}_{B_c}^2 $$ present in the NRQCD short-distance coefficients are also resummed to all orders in α s up to the next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) accuracy, by employing the light-cone factorization approach. Taking into account all these corrections, we then perform a phenomenological exploration of this rare decay. It is found that, relative to the leading-order result, the decay width of the process is reduced by the next-to-leading-order and NNLO corrections, with a net effect of ∼ −19% and of ∼ −31%, respectively. Furthermore, the NLL resummation can considerably alter the fixed-order NRQCD predictions, especially for the 𝒪(α s ) correction. We also find that the radiative corrections increase the renormalization scale dependence of the branching fraction, which is however significantly reduced by the NLL resummation. The dependence of the branching fraction on the heavy-quark masses m b,c is also investigated, which shows a monotonic decrease (increase) with m c (m b ).https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2025)042Bottom QuarksHigher-Order Perturbative CalculationsRare DecaysResummation
spellingShingle Xin-Qiang Li
Ya-Dong Yang
Yu-Dong Zhang
Dong-Hui Zheng
Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCD
Journal of High Energy Physics
Bottom Quarks
Higher-Order Perturbative Calculations
Rare Decays
Resummation
title Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCD
title_full Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCD
title_fullStr Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCD
title_full_unstemmed Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCD
title_short Rare W → B c + γ decay up to the NNLO and NLL accuracy in QCD
title_sort rare w b c γ decay up to the nnlo and nll accuracy in qcd
topic Bottom Quarks
Higher-Order Perturbative Calculations
Rare Decays
Resummation
url https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2025)042
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AT yadongyang rarewbcgdecayuptothennloandnllaccuracyinqcd
AT yudongzhang rarewbcgdecayuptothennloandnllaccuracyinqcd
AT donghuizheng rarewbcgdecayuptothennloandnllaccuracyinqcd