Coupling Constant - QCD and Asymptotic Freedom

QCD and Asymptotic Freedom

In non-Abelian gauge theories, the beta function can be negative, as first found by Frank Wilczek, David Politzer and David Gross. An example of this is the beta function for Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), and as a result the QCD coupling decreases at high energies.

Furthermore, the coupling decreases logarithmically, a phenomenon known as asymptotic freedom (the discovery of which was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004). The coupling decreases approximately as

where β₀ is a constant computed by Wilczek, Gross and Politzer.

Conversely, the coupling increases with decreasing energy. This means that the coupling becomes large at low energies, and one can no longer rely on perturbation theory.