Explicit form of the R-ratio of electron-positron annihilation into hadrons

The explicit expression for the R-ratio of electron-positron annihilation into hadrons, which properly accounts for all the effects due to continuation of the spacelike perturbative results into the timelike domain, is obtained at an arbitrary loop level. Several equivalent ways to derive a commonly employed approximation of the R-ratio are recapped and the impact of discarded in the latter higher-order pi2-terms on the evaluation of the strong running coupling is elucidated. The obtained results substantially facilitate the theoretical study of electron-positron annihilation into hadrons and the related strong interaction processes.