Study of tau- --> V P- nu(tau) in the framework of resonance chiral theory

In this paper we study two kinds of tau decays: (a) tau- --> (rho pi-,omega pi-, phi pi-, K*0 K-) nu(tau), which belong to Delta S=0 processes and (b) Delta S = 1 processes, like tau- --> (rho K-, omega K-, phi K-, \bar{K*0} pi-) nu(tau), in the framework of resonance chiral theory. We fit the tau- --> omega pi- nu(tau) spectral function and the invariant mass distribution of omega K in the process of tau- --> omega K- nu(tau) to get the values of unknown resonance couplings. Then we make a prediction for branching ratios of all channels.Comment: Published version; References added. 20 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

τ−→π−γντ\tau^-\to\pi^-\gamma\nu_\tau as a source of background on the Lepton Flavour Violating decay τ−→μ−γ\tau^-\to\mu^-\gamma

We calculate the decay of $\tau^-\to\pi^-\gamma\nu_\tau$ in the framework of Resonance Chiral Theory ($R\chi T$). By demanding the high energy constraints from QCD on the related form factors, we could predict the various physical observables of $\tau^-\to\pi^-\gamma\nu_\tau$ without any free parameter. Our results show that for a realistic cut on the photon energy (around $100$ MeV) this mode gives a branching ratio of roughly $0.1$ that should have already been detected at the heavy-flavour factories. Another interesting subject we have studied based on our calculation of the decay $\tau^-\to\pi^-\gamma\nu_\tau$ is the experimental background estimation of the lepton flavour violation process $\tau^- \to \mu^- \gamma$. We point out that although the description of radiation that PHOTOS provides -which has been used by BaBar and Belle collaborations to estimate this source of background- is in excellent agreement with the theoretical expectations in the low energy region in $\tau^-\to\pi^-\gamma\nu_\tau$ decay, this is not the case in the high energy region, precisely where it is easier that this decay mimics the process $\tau^-\to\mu^-\gamma$.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. Contribution to the Proceedings of the TAU10 Conference held in Manchester, 13-17 September 2010. To be published in Nucl. Phys. Proc. Supp

Pi pi scattering lengths at O(p^6) revisited

This article completes a former work where part of the O(p^6) low-energy constants entering in the pi pi scattering were estimated. Some resonance contributions were missed in former calculations and slight differences appeared with respect to our outcome. Here, we provide the full results for all the contributing O(p^6) couplings. We also perform a reanalysis of the hadronic inputs used for the estimation (resonance masses, widths...). Their reliability was checked together with the impact of the input uncertainties on the determinations of the chiral couplings and the scattering lengths a^I_J. Our outcome is found in agreement with former works though with slightly larger errors. However, the effect in the final values of the a^I_J is negligible after combining them with the other uncertainties. Based on this consistency, we conclude that the previous scattering length determinations seem to be rather solid and reliable, with the cO(p^6) low-energy constants quite under control. Nevertheless, the uncertainties found in the present work point out the limitation on further improvements unless the precision of the O(p^6) couplings is properly increased.Comment: 19 pages. Improved treatment of the a0 decay width and update of the numerical outcomes. Final version published in Phys. Rev. D (10.1103/PhysRevD.79.096006