Structure of divergences in the Drell-Yan process with small transverse momentum

Abstract

We consider the structure of divergences in Drell-Yan process with small transverse momentum. The factorization proof is not trivial because various kinds of divergences are intertwined in the collinear and soft parts at high orders. We prescribe a method to disentangle the divergences in the framework of the soft-collinear effective theory. The rapidity divergence is handled by introducing the delta regulator in the collinear Wilson lines. The collinear part, which consists of the transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution function, is free of the rapidity divergence after the soft zero-bin subtraction. There still remains the problem of mixing between the ultraviolet and infrared divergences, which forbids the renormalization group description. We show that the mixing is cancelled by the soft function. This suggests that the collinear and soft parts should be treated as a whole in constructing a consistent factorization theorem. The renormalization group behavior of the combined collinear and soft parts is presented explicitly at one loop. We also show that the integrated parton distribution function can be obtained by integrating the transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution function over the transverse momentum.