One-loop Jet Functions by Geometric Subtraction

Abstract

In factorization formulae for cross sections of scattering processes, final-state jets are described by jet functions, which are a crucial ingredient in the resummation of large logarithms. We present an approach to calculate generic one-loop jet functions, by using the geometric subtraction scheme. This method leads to local counterterms generated from a slicing procedure; and whose analytic integration is particularly simple. The poles are obtained analytically, up to an integration over the azimuthal angle for the observable-dependent soft counterterm. The poles depend only on the soft limit of the observable, characterized by a power law, and the finite term is written as a numerical integral. We illustrate our method by reproducing the known expressions for the jet function for angularities, the jet shape, and jets defined through a cone or $k_T$ algorithm. As a new result, we obtain the one-loop jet function for an angularity measurement in $e^+e^-$ collisions, that accounts for the formally power-suppressed but potentially large effect of recoil. An implementation of our approach is made available as the GOJet Mathematica package accompanying this paper.