Renormalization of Loop Functions in QCD

Abstract

We give a short overview of the renormalization properties of rectangular Wilson loops, the Polyakov loop correlator and the cyclic Wilson loop. We then discuss how to renormalize loops with more than one intersection, using the simplest non-trivial case as an illustrative example. Our findings expand on previous treatments. The generalized exponentiation theorem is applied to the Polyakov loop correlator and used to renormalize linear divergences in the cyclic Wilson loop.

Comments: 15 pages, 3 figures, invited contribution to the special issue "Path Dependence in Quantum Physics" of Particles and Nuclei