We compute the kaon's valence-quark (twist-two parton) distribution amplitude
(PDA) by projecting its Poincare'-covariant Bethe-Salpeter wave-function onto
the light-front. At a scale \zeta=2GeV, the PDA is a broad, concave and
asymmetric function, whose peak is shifted 12-16% away from its position in
QCD's conformal limit. These features are a clear expression of
SU(3)-flavour-symmetry breaking. They show that the heavier quark in the kaon
carries more of the bound-state's momentum than the lighter quark and also that
emergent phenomena in QCD modulate the magnitude of flavour-symmetry breaking:
it is markedly smaller than one might expect based on the difference between
light-quark current masses. Our results add to a body of evidence which
indicates that at any energy scale accessible with existing or foreseeable
facilities, a reliable guide to the interpretation of experiment requires the
use of such nonperturbatively broadened PDAs in leading-order, leading-twist
formulae for hard exclusive processes instead of the asymptotic PDA associated
with QCD's conformal limit. We illustrate this via the ratio of kaon and pion
electromagnetic form factors: using our nonperturbative PDAs in the appropriate
formulae, FK/Fπ=1.23 at spacelike-Q2=17GeV2, which compares
satisfactorily with the value of 0.92(5) inferred in e+e− annihilation
at s=17GeV2.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 table