Progress in perturbative QCD

Abstract

We briefly summarize some recent theoretical developments in perturbative QCD, emphasizing new ideas which have led to widening the domain of applicability of perturbation theory. In particular, it is now possible to calculate efficiently processes with many partons; the high order behavior of perturbation theory can be at least partly understood by going beyond leading twist accuracy; factorization with more than one hard scale (such as in DIS with heavy quarks) can be made consistent with the renormalization group; and large infrared logs can be resummed beyond the renormalization group. The use of the renormalization group to resum large longitudinal scales may allow the use of perturbation theory even in the absence of a large transverse scale.