Renormalization-group anatomy of transverse-momentum dependent parton distribution functions in QCD

Abstract

The ultraviolet and rapidity divergences of transverse-momentum dependent parton distribution functions with lightlike and transverse gauge links is studied, also incorporating a soft eikonal factor. We find that in the light-cone gauge with $q^-$-independent pole prescriptions extra divergences appear which amount, at one-loop, to a cusp-like anomalous dimension. We show that such contributions are absent when the Mandelstam-Leibbrandt prescription is used. In the first case, the soft factor cancels the anomalous-dimension defect, while in the second case its ultraviolet-divergent part reduces to unity.