PRA-HEP 99/04 Operator product expansion and analyticity

We discuss the current use of the operator-product expansion in QCD calculations. Treating the OPE as an expansion in inverse powers of an energy-squared variable (with possible exponential terms added), approximating the vacuum expectation value of the operator product by several terms and assuming a bound on the remainder along the euclidean region, we observe how the bound varies with increasing deflection from the euclidean ray down to the cut (Minkowski region). We argue that the assumption that the remainder is constant for all angles in the cut complex plane down to the Minkowski region is not justified. Making specific assumptions on the properties of the expanded function, we obtain bounds on the remainder in explicit form and show that they are very sensitive both to the deflection angle and to the class of functions considered. The results obtained are discussed in connection with calculations of the coupling constant αs from the τ decay. PACS numbers: 11.15.Tk, 12.38.Lg, 13.35.Dx