Paper
Theoretical Uncertainties in the QCD Evolution of Structure Functions and their Impact on $α_s(M_Z^2)$
Authors
Abstract
The differences are discussed between various next-to-leading order prescriptions for the QCD evolution of parton densities and structure functions. Their quantitative impact is understood to an accuracy of 0.02\%. The uncertainties due to the freedom to choose the renormalization and factorization scales are studied. The quantitative consequences of the different uncertainties on the extraction of the strong coupling constant from scaling violations in deep--inelastic scattering are estimated for the kinematic regime accessible at HERA.