Two-loop renormalization in the Standard Model. Part II: Renormalization procedures and computational techniques

In part I general aspects of the renormalization of a spontaneously broken gauge theory have been introduced. Here, in part II, two-loop renormalization is introduced and discussed within the context of the minimal Standard Model. Therefore, this paper deals with the transition between bare parameters and fields to renormalized ones. The full list of one- and two-loop counterterms is shown and it is proven that, by a suitable extension of the formalism already introduced at the one-loop level, two-point functions suffice in renormalizing the model. The problem of overlapping ultraviolet divergencies is analyzed and it is shown that all counterterms are local and of polynomial nature. The original program of 't Hooft and Veltman is at work. Finite parts are written in a way that allows for a fast and reliable numerical integration with all collinear logarithms extracted analytically. Finite renormalization, the transition between renormalized parameters and physical (pseudo-)observables, will be discussed in part III where numerical results, e.g. for the complex poles of the unstable gauge bosons, will be shown. An attempt will be made to define the running of the electromagnetic coupling constant at the two-loop level.