Numerical multi-loop integrals and applications

Higher-order radiative corrections play an important role in precision studies of the electroweak and Higgs sector, as well as for the detailed understanding of large backgrounds to new physics searches. For corrections beyond the one-loop level and involving many independent mass and momentum scales, it is in general not possible to find analytic results, so that one needs to resort to numerical methods instead. This article presents an overview over a variety of numerical loop integration techniques, highlighting their range of applicability, suitability for automatization, and numerical precision and stability. In a second part of this article, the application of numerical loop integration methods in the area of electroweak precision tests is illustrated. Numerical methods were essential for obtaining full two-loop predictions for the most important precision observables within the Standard Model. The theoretical foundations for these corrections will be described in some detail, including aspects of the renormalization, resummation of leading loop contributions, and the evaluation of the theory uncertainty from missing higher orders.