Finite quantum gauge theories

We explicitly compute the one-loop exact beta function for a nonlocal extension of the standard gauge theory, in particular, Yang-Mills and QED. The theory, made of a weakly nonlocal kinetic term and a local potential of the gauge field, is unitary (ghost-free) and perturbatively super-renormalizable. Moreover, in the action we can always choose the potential (consisting of one killer operator) to make zero the beta function of the running gauge coupling constant. The outcome is a UV finite theory for any gauge interaction. Our calculations are done in D = 4, but the results can be generalized to even or odd spacetime dimensions. We compute the contribution to the beta function from two different killer operators by using two independent techniques, namely, the Feynman diagrams and the Barvinsky-Vilkovisky traces. By making the theories finite, we are able to solve also the Landau pole problems, in particular, in QED. Without any potential, the beta function of the one-loop super-renormalizable theory shows a universal Landau pole in the running coupling constant in the ultraviolet regime (UV), regardless of the specific higher-derivative structure. However, the dressed propagator shows neither the Landau pole in the UV nor the singularities in the infrared regime (IR).