Low-energy effective field theory below the electroweak scale: one-loop renormalization in the 't Hooft-Veltman scheme

Abstract: The low-energy effective field theory below the electroweak scale (LEFT) describes the effects at low energies of both the weak interaction and physics beyond the Standard Model. We study the one-loop renormalization of the LEFT in the 't Hooft-Veltman scheme, which offers an algebraically consistent definition of the Levi-Civita symbol and $\gamma_5$ in dimensional regularization. However, in connection with minimal subtraction this scheme leads to a spurious breaking of chiral symmetry in intermediate steps of the calculation. Based on the 't Hooft-Veltman prescription, we define a renormalization scheme that restores chiral symmetry by including appropriate finite counterterms. To this end, we extend the physical LEFT operator basis by a complete set of off-shell and one-loop-evanescent operators and we perform the renormalization at one loop. We determine the finite counterterms to the physical parameters that compensate both the insertions of evanescent operators, as well as the chiral-symmetry-breaking terms from the renormalizable part of the Lagrangian in $D$ dimensions. Our results can be applied in next-to-leading-log calculations in the 't Hooft-Veltman scheme: using our renormalization scheme instead of pure minimal subtraction separates the physical sector from the unphysical evanescent sector and leads to results that are manifestly free of spurious chiral-symmetry-breaking terms.