We evaluate by means of lattice QCD calculations the low-energy constant $ell_{7}$ which parametrizes strong isospin effects at NLO in $rm{SU}(2)$ chiral perturbation theory. Among all low-energy constants at NLO, $ell_{7}$ is the one known less prec
isely, and its uncertainty is currently larger than $50%$. Our strategy is based on the RM123 approach in which the lattice path-integral is expanded in powers of the isospin breaking parameter $Delta m= (m_{d}-m_{u})/2$. In order to evaluate the relevant lattice correlators we make use of the recently proposed rotated twisted-mass (RTM) scheme. Within the RM123 approach, it is possible to cleanly extract the value of $ell_{7}$ from either the pion mass splitting $M_{pi^{+}}-M_{pi^{0}}$ induced by strong isospin breaking at order $mathcal{O}left((Delta m)^{2}right)$ (mass method), or from the coupling of the neutral pion $pi^{0}$ to the isoscalar operator $left(bar{u}gamma_{5}u + bar{d}gamma_{5} dright)/sqrt{2}$ at order $mathcal{O}(Delta m)$ (matrix element method). In this pilot study we limit the analysis to a single ensemble generated by the Extended Twisted Mass Collaboration (ETMC) with $N_{f}=2+1+1$ dynamical quark flavours, which corresponds to a lattice spacing $asimeq 0.095~{rm fm}$ and to a pion mass $M_{pi}simeq 260~{rm MeV}$. We find that the matrix element method outperforms the mass method in terms of resulting statistical accuracy. Our determination, $ell_{7} = 2.5(1.4)times 10^{-3}$, is in agreement and improves previous calculations.
We propose a scheme of lattice twisted-mass fermion regularization which is particularly convenient for application to isospin breaking (IB) QCD and QED calculations, based in particular on the so called RM123 approach, in which the IB terms of the a
ction are treated as a perturbation. The main, practical advantage of this scheme is that it allows the calculation of IB effects on some mesonic observables, like e.g. the pi+ - pi0 mass splitting, using lattice correlation functions in which the quark and antiquark fields in the meson are regularized with opposite values of the Wilson parameter r. These correlation functions are found to be affected by much smaller statistical fluctuations, with respect to the analogous functions in which quark and antiquark fields are regularized with the same value of r. Two numerical application of this scheme, that we call rotated twisted-mass, within pure QCD and QCD+QED respectively, are also provided for illustration.
We present a comparison of existing experimental data for the radiative leptonic decays $Ptoell u_ellgamma$, where $P=K$ or $pi$ and $ell=e$ or $mu$, from the KLOE, PIBETA, E787, ISTRA+ and OKA collaborations with theoretical predictions based on the
recent non-perturbative determinations of the structure-dependent vector and axial-vector form factors, $F_V$ and $F_A$ respectively. These were obtained using lattice QCD+QED simulations at order $O(alpha_{mathrm{em}})$ in the electromagnetic coupling. We find good agreement with the KLOE data on $Kto e u_egamma$ decays from which the form factor $F^+=F_V+F_A$ can be determined. For $Ktomu u_mugamma$ decays we observe differences of up to 3,-,4 standard deviations at large photon energies between the theoretical predictions and the data from the E787, ISTRA+ and OKA experiments and similar discrepancies in some kinematical regions with the PIBETA experiment on radiative pion decays. A global study of all the kaon-decay data within the Standard Model results in a poor fit, largely because at large photon energies the KLOE and E787 data cannot be reproduced simultaneously in terms of the same form factor $F^+$. The discrepancy between the theoretical and experimental values of the form factor $F^-=F_V-F_A$ is even more pronounced. These observations motivate future improvements of both the theoretical and experimental determinations of the structure-dependent form factors $F^+$ and $F^-$, as well as further theoretical investigations of models of new physics which might for example, include possible flavor changing interactions beyond $V - A$ and/or non-universal corrections to the lepton couplings.
The leading electromagnetic (e.m.) and strong isospin-breaking corrections to the $pi^+ to mu^+ u[gamma]$ and $K^+ to mu^+ u[gamma]$ leptonic decay rates are evaluated for the first time on the lattice. The results are obtained using gauge ensemble
s produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ dynamical quarks. The relative leading-order e.m.~and strong isospin-breaking corrections to the decay rates are 1.53(19)% for $pi_{mu 2}$ decays and 0.24(10)% for $K_{mu 2}$ decays. Using the experimental values of the $pi_{mu 2}$ and $K_{mu 2}$ decay rates and updated lattice QCD results for the pion and kaon decay constants in isosymmetric QCD, we find that the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $ | V_{us}| = 0.22538(46)$, reducing by a factor of about $1.8$ the corresponding uncertainty in the Particle Data Group review. Our calculation of $|V_{us}|$ allows also an accurate determination of the first-row CKM unitarity relation $| V_{ud}|^2 + | V_{us}|^2 + | V_{ub}|^2 = 0.99988(46)$. Theoretical developments in this paper include a detailed discussion of how QCD can be defined in the full QCD+QED theory and an improved renormalisation procedure in which the bare lattice operators are renormalised non-perturbatively into the (modified) Regularization Independent Momentum subtraction scheme and subsequently matched perturbatively at $O(alpha_{em}alpha_s(M_W))$ into the W-regularisation scheme appropriate for these calculations.
We present the first lattice Nf=2+1+1 determination of the tensor form factor $f_T^{D pi(K)}(q^2)$ corresponding to the semileptonic and rare $D to pi(K)$ decays as a function of the squared 4-momentum transfer $q^2$. Together with our recent determi
nation of the vector and scalar form factors we complete the set of hadronic matrix elements regulating the semileptonic and rare $D to pi(K)$ transitions within and beyond the Standard Model, when a non-zero tensor coupling is possible. Our analysis is based on the gauge configurations produced by ETMC with Nf=2+1+1 flavors of dynamical quarks, which include in the sea, besides two light mass-degenerate quarks, also the strange and charm quarks with masses close to their physical values. We simulated at three different values of the lattice spacing and with pion masses as small as 220 MeV. The matrix elements of the tensor current are determined for plenty of kinematical conditions in which parent and child mesons are either moving or at rest. As in the case of the vector and scalar form factors, Lorentz symmetry breaking due to hypercubic effects is clearly observed also in the data for the tensor form factor and included in the decomposition of the current matrix elements in terms of additional form factors. After the extrapolations to the physical pion mass and to the continuum and infinite volume limits we determine the tensor form factor in the whole kinematical region accessible in the experiments. A set of synthetic data points, representing our results for $f_T^{D pi(K)}(q^2)$ for several selected values of $q^2$, is provided and the corresponding covariance matrix is also available. At zero four-momentum transfer we get $f_T^{D pi}(0) = 0.506 (79)$ and $f_T^{D K}(0) = 0.687 (54)$, which correspond to $f_T^{D pi}(0)/f_+^{D pi}(0) = 0.827 (114)$ and $f_T^{D K}(0)/f_+^{D K}(0)= 0.898 (50)$.
The leading-order electromagnetic and strong isospin-breaking corrections to the ratio of $K_{mu 2}$ and $pi_{mu 2}$ decay rates are evaluated for the first time on the lattice, following a method recently proposed. The lattice results are obtained u
sing the gauge ensembles produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ dynamical quarks. Systematics effects are evaluated and the impact of the quenched QED approximation is estimated. Our result for the correction to the tree-level $K_{mu 2} / pi_{mu 2}$ decay ratio is $-1.22,(16) %$ to be compared to the estimate $-1.12,(21) %$ based on Chiral Perturbation Theory and adopted by the Particle Data Group.
We present a study of the isospin-breaking (IB) corrections to pseudoscalar (PS) meson masses using the gauge configurations produced by the ETM Collaboration with $N_f=2+1+1$ dynamical quarks at three lattice spacings varying from 0.089 to 0.062 fm.
Our method is based on a combined expansion of the path integral in powers of the small parameters $(widehat{m}_d - widehat{m}_u)/Lambda_{QCD}$ and $alpha_{em}$, where $widehat{m}_f$ is the renormalized quark mass and $alpha_{em}$ the renormalized fine structure constant. We obtain results for the pion, kaon and $D$-meson mass splitting; for the Dashens theorem violation parameters $epsilon_gamma(overline{mathrm{MS}}, 2~mbox{GeV})$, $epsilon_{pi^0}$, $epsilon_{K^0}(overline{mathrm{MS}}, 2~mbox{GeV})$; for the light quark masses $(widehat{m}_d - widehat{m}_u)(overline{mathrm{MS}}, 2~mbox{GeV})$, $(widehat{m}_u / widehat{m}_d)(overline{mathrm{MS}}, 2~mbox{GeV})$; for the flavour symmetry breaking parameters $R(overline{mathrm{MS}}, 2~mbox{GeV})$ and $Q(overline{mathrm{MS}}, 2~mbox{GeV})$ and for the strong IB effects on the kaon decay constants.
In Carrasco et al. we have recently proposed a method to calculate $O(e^2)$ electromagnetic corrections to leptonic decay widths of pseudoscalar mesons. The method is based on the observation that the infrared divergent contributions (that appear at
intermediate stages of the calculation and that cancel in physical quantities thanks to the Bloch-Nordsieck mechanism) are universal, i.e. depend on the charge and the mass of the meson but not on its internal structure. In this talk we perform a detailed analysis of the finite-volume effects associated with our method. In particular we show that also the leading $1/L$ finite-volume effects are universal and perform an analytical calculation of the finite-volume leptonic decay rate for a point-like meson.
We demonstrate that the leading and next-to-leading finite-volume effects in the evaluation of leptonic decay widths of pseudoscalar mesons at $O(alpha)$ are universal, i.e. they are independent of the structure of the meson. This is analogous to a s
imilar result for the spectrum but with some fundamental differences, most notably the presence of infrared divergences in decay amplitudes. The leading non-universal, structure-dependent terms are of $O(1/L^2)$ (compared to the $O(1/L^3)$ leading non-universal corrections in the spectrum). We calculate the universal finite-volume effects, which requires an extension of previously developed techniques to include a dependence on an external three-momentum (in our case, the momentum of the final state lepton). The result can be included in the strategy proposed in Ref.,cite{Carrasco:2015xwa} for using lattice simulations to compute the decay widths at $O(alpha)$, with the remaining finite-volume effects starting at order $O(1/L^2)$. The methods developed in this paper can be generalised to other decay processes, most notably to semileptonic decays, and hence open the possibility of a new era in precision flavour physics.
In this paper, for the first time a method is proposed to compute electromagnetic effects in hadronic processes using lattice simulations. The method can be applied, for example, to the leptonic and semileptonic decays of light or heavy pseudoscalar
mesons. For these quantities the presence of infrared divergences in intermediate stages of the calculation makes the procedure much more complicated than is the case for the hadronic spectrum, for which calculations already exist. In order to compute the physical widths, diagrams with virtual photons must be combined with those corresponding to the emission of real photons. Only in this way do the infrared divergences cancel as first understood by Bloch and Nordsieck in 1937. We present a detailed analysis of the method for the leptonic decays of a pseudoscalar meson. The implementation of our method, although challenging, is within reach of the present lattice technology.
