Quark-antiquark interaction: the top quark mass and the gluon propagator in the infrared regime

Abstract

In the absence of direct evidence of Physics beyond the standard model, Precision Physics gains even more importance, since it can reveal small deviations in the theory and point directions in the search for new Physics. In this project, we will study two processes related to the precise description of the quark-antiquark interaction. The first process concerns the determination of the top quark mass, a fundamental parameter of the standard model. We will study the higher-order QCD corrections to the cross-section of top-quark pair production in an electron-positron collider (such as the future FCC-ee), in order to increase the precision of the top quark mass determination. The detailed description of the quark-antiquark interaction in the non-relativistic limit plays a central role in this work. In the second front, we will study the analytical structure of the gluon propagator in the infrared regime, which is related to the quark-antiquark interaction at long distances and contains essential information about quark confinement. The aim of this project is tomake fundamental contributions to standard model Physics and to quantum chromodynamics, both in the perturbative regime and in the non-perturbative regime. (AU)