Spin structure function of the virtual photon beyond the leading order in QCD

Polarized photon structure can be studied in the future polarized e(+)e(-) colliding-beam experiments. We investigate the spin-dependent structure function of the virtual photon g(1)(gamma)(x Q(2), P-2), in perturbative QCD for Lambda(2) much less than P-2 much less than Q(2), where -Q(2)(-P-2) is the mass squared of the probe (target)photon. The analysis is performed to next-to-leading order in QCD. We particularly emphasize the renormalization scheme independence of the result. The nonleading corrections significantly modify the leading log result, in particular, at large x as well as at small x. We also discuss the nonvanishing first moment sum rule of g(1)(gamma) where O(alpha(s)) corrections are computed. [S0556-2821(99)08309-5]