WCxf: An exchange format for Wilson coefficients beyond the Standard Model

We define a data exchange format for numerical values of Wilson coefficients of local operators parameterising low-energy effects of physics beyond the Standard Model. The format facilitates interfacing model-specific Wilson coefficient calculators, renormalisation group (RG) runners, and observable calculators. It is designed to be unambiguous (defining a non-redundant set of operators with fixed normalisation in each basis), extensible (allowing the addition of new EFTs or bases by the user), and robust (being based on industry standard file formats with parsers implemented in many programming languages). We have implemented the format for the Standard Model EFT (SMEFT) and for the weak effective theory (WET) below the electroweak scale and have added interfaces to a number of public codes dealing with SMEFT or WET. We also provide command-line utilities and a Python module for convenient manipulation of WCxf files, including translation between different bases and matching from SMEFT to WET.