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Factorization and resummation of QED radiative corrections for neutron beta decay

Zehua Cao1, Richard J. Hill1,2, Ryan Plestid3, and Peter Vander Griend1,2

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 113006 – Published 24 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/639y-63wk

Abstract

Details of the two-loop analysis of long-distance QED radiative corrections to neutron beta decay are presented. Explicit expressions are given for hard, jet, and soft functions appearing in the factorization formula that describes the limit of small electron mass and large electron energy. Numerical enhancements from the infrared region are resummed using renormalization group methods. Power corrections, cancellation of singularities in the small-mass expansion, renormalization scheme dependence, and bound-state effects are also discussed. These results provide the most precise determination of long-distance radiative corrections to neutron beta decay and impact the determination of |Vud| from the measured neutron lifetime and thus set a target for uncertainty reductions in the experimental and short-distance inputs.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 113006– Published 24 December, 2025
  • Received 18 August 2025
  • Accepted 2 December 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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