https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-012-2177-9
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
O(α s ) corrections to the decays of polarized W ± and Z bosons into massive quark pairs
1
Loodus- ja Tehnoloogiateaduskond, Füüsika Instituut, Tartu Ülikool, Tähe 4, 51010, Tartu, Estonia
2
Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Staudinger Weg 7, 55099, Mainz, Germany
* e-mail: groote@thep.physik.uni-mainz.de
Received:
24
April
2012
Revised:
15
August
2012
Published online:
9
October
2012
We present O(α
s
) results on the decays of polarized W
± and Z bosons into massive quark pairs. The NLO QCD corrections to the polarized decay functions are given up to the second order in the quark mass expansion. We find a surprisingly strong dependence of the NLO polarized decay functions on finite quark mass effects even at the relatively large mass scale of the W
± and Z bosons. As a main application we consider the decay t→b+W
+ involving the helicity fractions ρ
mm
of the W
+ boson followed by the polarized decay 
for which we determine the O(α
s
) polar angle decay distribution. We also discuss NLO polarization effects in the production/decay process 
.
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and Società Italiana di Fisica, 2012
