Perturbative quantum-chromodynamic corrections to the hadronic decay width of the Higgs boson

Using the operator-product expansion it is shown that perturbative quantum-chromodynamic corrections to the hadronic decay width of the Higgs boson can be calculated without encountering mass singularities. The result is given in terms of the "running quark mass" of the renormalization group and calculable corrections in powers of 1ln(M²Λ²). The next-to-leading-order correction amounts to about 35% for the Higgs-boson mass $M=50$ GeV.