Hadronic tau decays

Abstract

We give a pedagogical introduction to the rich phenomenology of hadronic tau decays. These decays provide a unique window into the interplay of electroweak and strong interactions at low energies, as they occur primarily via $W$ exchange after the electroweak quark current hadronizes. In this manuscript, we summarize the basic ingredients required to perform precision physics studies in this sector. We detail the derivation of the different distributions within the Standard Model, discuss how to parametrize the non-perturbative QCD dynamics, and present methods commonly used to achieve clean theoretical predictions. Additionally, we briefly review how these distributions generalize in the presence of relatively heavy particles from beyond the Standard Model. This overview thus aims to serve as a useful starting point for readers interested in understanding how the only lepton capable of decaying into hadrons does so.