Non-perturbative momentum dependence of the coupling constant and hadronic models

Abstract

Models of hadron structure are associated with a hadronic scale which allows by perturbative evolution to calculate observables in the deep inelastic region. The resolution of Dyson-Schwinger equations leads to the freezing of the QCD running coupling (effective charge) in the infrared, which is best understood as a dynamical generation of a gluon mass function, giving rise to a momentum dependence which is free from infrared divergences. We use this new development to understand why perturbative treatments are working reasonably well despite the smallness of the hadronic scale.

Changes in Acknowledgments and PACS numbers