Regularization Scheme Independence and Unitarity in QCD Cross Sections

When calculating next-to-leading order QCD cross sections, divergences in intermediate steps of the calculation must be regularized. The final result is independent of the regularization scheme used, provided that it is unitary. In this paper we explore the relationship between regularization scheme independence and unitarity. We show how the regularization scheme dependence can be isolated in simple universal components, and how unitarity can be guaranteed for any regularization prescription that can consistently be introduced in one-loop amplitudes. Finally, we show how to derive transition rules between different schemes without having to do any loop calculations.