Universal renormalization in leptonic and semileptonic amplitudes

By use of the Ward identities of current algebra, it is shown in the context of a class of SU(2)_L⊗U(1) gauge models that, after renormalization of strong coupling constants and masses, the divergent part of the corrections of order α to the semileptonic and leptonic amplitudes mediated by the W meson is a universal multiple of the zeroth-order amplitude, independent of the strong interactions. Furthermore this divergent part can be absorbed by a universal renormalization of the W coupling constant g.