Energy-Dependent π

Focusing on three-pion states with maximal isospin (π^{+}π^{+}π^{+}), we present the first nonperturbative determination of an energy-dependent three-hadron scattering amplitude from first-principles QCD. The calculation combines finite-volume three-hadron energies, extracted using numerical lattice QCD, with a relativistic finite-volume formalism, required to interpret the results. To fully implement the latter, we also solve integral equations that relate an intermediate three-body K matrix to the physical three-hadron scattering amplitude. The resulting amplitude shows rich analytic structure and a complicated dependence on the two-pion invariant masses, represented here via Dalitz-like plots of the scattering rate.

Quark-Mass Dependence of Elastic πK Scattering from QCD.

We present a determination of the isospin-1/2 elastic πK scattering amplitudes in S and P partial waves using lattice quantum chromodynamics. The amplitudes, constrained for a large number of real-valued energy points, are obtained as a function of light-quark mass, corresponding to four pion masses between 200 and 400 MeV, at a single lattice spacing. Below the first inelastic threshold, the P-wave scattering amplitude is dominated by a single pole singularity that evolves from being a stable bound state at the highest quark mass into a narrow resonance that broadens as the pion and kaon masses are reduced. As in experiment, the S-wave amplitude does not exhibit an obviously resonant behavior, but instead shows a slow rise from threshold, which is not inconsistent with the presence of a κ/K_{0}^{⋆}(700)-like resonance at the considered quark masses. As has been found in analyses of experimental scattering data, simple analytic continuations into the complex energy plane of precisely determined lattice QCD amplitudes on the real energy axis are not sufficient to model-independently determine the existence and properties of this state. The spectra and amplitudes we present will serve as an input for increasingly elaborate amplitude analysis techniques that implement more of the analytic structure expected at complex energies.

Isoscalar ππ Scattering and the σ Meson Resonance from QCD.

We present for the first time a determination of the energy dependence of the isoscalar ππ elastic scattering phase shift within a first-principles numerical lattice approach to QCD. Hadronic correlation functions are computed including all required quark propagation diagrams, and from these the discrete spectrum of states in the finite volume defined by the lattice boundary is extracted. From the volume dependence of the spectrum, we obtain the S-wave phase shift up to the KK[over ¯] threshold. Calculations are performed at two values of the u, d quark mass corresponding to m_{π}=236,391 MeV, and the resulting amplitudes are described in terms of a σ meson which evolves from a bound state below the ππ threshold at the heavier quark mass to a broad resonance at the lighter quark mass.

Resonant π

We present the first ab initio calculation of a radiative transition of a hadronic resonance within quantum chromodynamics (QCD). We compute the amplitude for ππ→πγ^{⋆}, as a function of the energy of the ππ pair and the virtuality of the photon, in the kinematic regime where ππ couples strongly to the unstable ρ resonance. This exploratory calculation is performed using a lattice discretization of QCD with quark masses corresponding to m_{π}≈400 MeV. We obtain a description of the energy dependence of the transition amplitude, constrained at 48 kinematic points, that we can analytically continue to the ρ pole and identify from its residue the ρ→πγ^{⋆} form factor.