Next-to-next-to-leading order ${\cal O}(α_s^4)$ results for heavy quark pair production in quark--antiquark collisions: The one-loop squared contributions

Abstract

We calculate the next-to-next-to-leading order ${\cal O}(α_s^4)$ one-loop squared corrections to the production of heavy quark pairs in quark-antiquark annihilations. These are part of the next-to-next-to-leading order ${\cal O}(α_s^4)$ radiative QCD corrections to this process. Our results, with the full mass dependence retained, are presented in a closed and very compact form, in the dimensional regularization scheme. We have found very intriguing factorization properties for the finite part of the amplitudes.

12 pages, 2 figures, electronic results file, abbreviation NNLO in Title and Abstract expanded, Summary expanded, reference updated, version to appear in Phys.Rev.D