Two Photon Decays of Charmonia from Lattice QCD

We make the first calculation in lattice QCD of two-photon decays of mesons. Working in the charmonium sector, using the LSZ reduction to relate a photon to a sum of hadronic vector eigenstates, we compute form-factors in both the space-like and time-like domains for the transitions $\eta_c \to \gamma^* \gamma^*$ and $\chi_{c0} \to \gamma^* \gamma^*$. At the on-shell point we find approximate agreement with experimental world-average values.Comment: Replaced with version to be published in PRL. Expanded discussion of possible systematic error

The lightest hybrid meson supermultiplet in QCD

We interpret the spectrum of meson states recently obtained in non-perturbative lattice QCD calculations in terms of constituent quark-antiquark bound states and states, called `hybrids', in which the qqbar pair is supplemented by an excitation of the gluonic field. We identify a lightest supermultiplet of hybrid mesons with JPC = (0,1,2)-+, 1-- built from a gluonic excitation of chromomagnetic character coupled to qqbar in an S-wave. The next lightest hybrids are suggested to be quark orbital excitations with the same gluonic excitation, while the next distinct gluonic excitation is significantly heavier. Existing models of gluonic excitations are compared to these findings and possible phenomenological consequences explored

Hadron Resonaces from QCD

I describe how hadron-hadron scattering amplitudes are related to the eigenstates of QCD in a finite cubic volume. The discrete spectrum of such eigenstates can be determined from correlation functions computed using lattice QCD, and the corresponding scattering amplitudes extracted. I review results from the Hadron Spectrum Collaboration who have used these finite volume methods to study ππ elastic scattering, including the ρ resonance, as well as coupled-channel πK, ηK scattering. The very recent extension to the case where an external current acts is also presented, considering the reaction πγ* → ππ, from which the unstable ρ → πγ transition form factor is extracted. Ongoing calculations are advertised and the outlook for finite volume approaches is presented

Charmonium in lattice QCD and the non-relativistic quark-model

We compare the results of a numerical lattice QCD calculation of the charmonium spectrum with the structure of a general non-relativistic potential model. To achieve this we form the non-relativistic reduction of derivative-based fermion bilinear interpolating fields used in lattice QCD calculations and compute their overlap with c-cbar meson states at rest constructed in the non-relativistic quark model, providing a bound-state model interpretation for the lattice data. Essential gluonic components in the bound-states, usually called hybrids, are identified by considering interpolating fields that involve the gluonic field-strength tensor and which have zero overlap onto simple c-cbar model states

Scattering processes and resonances from lattice QCD

The vast majority of hadrons observed in nature are not stable under the strong interaction, rather they are resonances whose existence is deduced from enhancements in the energy dependence of scattering amplitudes. The study of hadron resonances offers a window into the workings of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) in the low-energy non-perturbative region, and in addition, many probes of the limits of the electroweak sector of the Standard Model consider processes which feature hadron resonances. From a theoretical standpoint, this is a challenging field: the same dynamics that binds quarks and gluons into hadron resonances also controls their decay into lighter hadrons, so a complete approach to QCD is required. Presently, lattice QCD is the only available tool that provides the required non-perturbative evaluation of hadron observables. In this article, we review progress in the study of few-hadron reactions in which resonances and bound-states appear using lattice QCD techniques. We describe the leading approach which takes advantage of the periodic finite spatial volume used in lattice QCD calculations to extract scattering amplitudes from the discrete spectrum of QCD eigenstates in a box. We explain how from explicit lattice QCD calculations, one can rigorously garner information about a variety of resonance properties, including their masses, widths, decay couplings, and form factors. The challenges which currently limit the field are discussed along with the steps being taken to resolve them