Knowledge of the derivative of the topological susceptibility at zero momentum is important for assessing the validity of the Witten-Veneziano formula for the eta mass, and likewise for the resolution of the EMC proton spin problem. We investigate th
e momentum dependence of the topological susceptibility and its derivative at zero momentum using overlap fermions in quenched lattice QCD simulations. We expose the role of the low-lying Dirac eigenmodes for the topological charge density, and find a negative value for the derivative. While the sign of the derivative is consistent with the QCD sum rule for pure Yang-Mills theory, the absolute value is overestimated if the contribution from higher eigenmodes is ignored.
