Strong renormalization scheme dependence in $\tau$-lepton decays: fact or fiction?

Abstract

The question of the renormalization scheme dependence of the $\tau$ semileptonic decay rate is revisited in response to a recent criticism. Particular attention is payed to a distinction between a consistent quantitative description of this dependence and the actual selection of a subset of ``acceptable'' renormalization schemes. It is argued that a reasonable universal measure of the renormalization scheme dependence can be formulated, which gives encouraging results when applied to various physical quantities, including the semileptonic $\tau$ decay rate.