Gauge Invariance and Anomalous Dimensions of a Light-Cone Wilson Loop in Light-Like Axial Gauge

Abstract

Complete two-loop calculation of a dimensionally regularized Wilson loop with light-like segments is performed in the light-like axial gauge with the Mandelstam-Leibbrandt prescription for the gluon propagator. We find an expression which {\it exactly} coincides with the one previously obtained for the same Wilson loop in covariant Feynman gauge. The renormalization of Wilson loop is performed in the $\text{MS}-$scheme using a general procedure tailored to the light-like axial gauge. We find that the renormalized Wilson loop obeys a renormalization group equation with the same anomalous dimensions as in covariant gauges. Physical implications of our result for investigation of infrared asymptotics of perturbative QCD are pointed out.

Comments: 24 pages and 4 figures (included), LaTeX style, UFPD-93/TH/23, UPRF-93-366, UTF-93-291