Search

We discuss our recently proposed model-independent framework for fitting hadronic form-factor data, which are often only available at discrete kinematical points, using parameterisations based on unitarity and analyticity. The accompanying dispersive bound on the form factors (unitarity constraint) is used to regulate the ill-posed fitting problem and allow model-independent predictions over the entire physical range. Kinematical constraints, for example for the vector and scalar form factors in semileptonic meson decays, can be imposed exactly. The core formulae are straight-forward to implement with standard math libraries. We demonstrate the method for the exclusive semileptonic decay $B_s\to K\ell\nu$, an example requiring one to use a generalisation of the original Boyd Grinstein Lebed (BGL) unitarity constraint. We further present a first application of the method to $B \to D^*\ell \nu$ decays., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings contribution to "The 40th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2023)"

We propose a model-independent framework for fitting hadronic form-factor data, which is often only available at discrete kinematical points, using parameterisations based on to unitarity and analyticity. In this novel approach the latter two properties of quantum-field theory regulate the ill-posed fitting problem and allow model-independent predictions over the entire physical range. Kinematical constraints, for example for the vector and scalar form factors in semileptonic meson decays, can be imposed exactly. The core formulae are straight-forward to implement with standard math libraries. We take account of a generalisation of the original Boyd Grinstein Lebed (BGL) unitarity constraint for form factors and demonstrate our method for the exclusive semileptonic decay $B_s\to K \ell \nu$, for which we make a number of phenomenologically relevant predictions, including the CKM matrix element $|V_{ub}|$., Comment: 46 pages, 8 figures, version as published in JHEP with updated references, extended discussion of the truncation dependence (Sec. 3.4) and the asymptotic behaviour of the BGL expansion (App. C)

We report the first calculation using physical light-quark masses of the electromagnetic form factor $V(z)$ describing the long-distance contributions to the $K^+\to\pi^+\ell^+\ell^-$ decay amplitude. The calculation is performed on a 2+1 flavor domain wall fermion ensemble with inverse lattice spacing $a^{-1}=1.730(4)$GeV. We implement a Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani cancellation by extrapolating to the physical charm-quark mass from three below-charm masses. We obtain $V(z=0.013(2))=-0.87(4.44)$, achieving a bound for the value. The large statistical error arises from stochastically estimated quark loops., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

We study the Hardy identities and inequalities on Cartan-Hadamard manifolds using the notion of a Bessel pair. These Hardy identities offer significantly more information on the existence/nonexistence of the extremal functions of the Hardy inequalities. These Hardy inequalities are in the spirit of Brezis-V\'{a}zquez in the Euclidean spaces. As direct consequences, we establish several Hardy type inequalities that provide substantial improvements as well as simple understandings to many known Hardy inequalities and Hardy-Poincar\'{e}-Sobolev type inequalities on hyperbolic spaces in the literature., Comment: 27 pages

Antiferromagnetic insulators on the diamond lattice are candidate materials to host exotic magnetic phenomena ranging from spin-orbital entanglement to degenerate spiral ground-states and topological paramagnetism. Compared to other three-dimensional networks of magnetic ions, such as the geometrically frustrated pyrochlore lattice, the investigation of diamond-lattice magnetism in real materials is less mature. In this work, we characterize the magnetic properties of model A-site spinels CoRh2O4 (cobalt rhodite) and CuRh2O4 (copper rhodite) by means of thermo-magnetic and neutron scattering measurements and perform group theory analysis, Rietveld refinement, mean-field theory, and spin wave theory calculations to analyze the experimental results. Our investigation reveals that cubic CoRh2O4 is a canonical S=3/2 diamond-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet with a nearest neighbor exchange J = 0.63 meV and a Neel ordered ground-state below a temperature of 25 K. In tetragonally distorted CuRh2O4, competiting exchange interactions between up to third nearest-neighbor spins lead to the development of an incommensurate spin helix at 24 K with a magnetic propagation vector k = (0,0,0.79). Strong reduction of the ordered moment is observed for the S=1/2 spins in CuRh2O4 and captured by our 1/S corrections to the staggered magnetization. Our work identifies CoRh2O4 and CuRh2O4 as reference materials to guide future work searching for exotic quantum behavior in diamond-lattice antiferromagnets., Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures

We report the discovery of a spin one diamond lattice in NiRh2O4. This spinel undergoes a cubic to tetragonal phase transition at T = 440 K that leaves all nearest neighbor interactions equivalent. In the tetragonal phase, magnetization measurements show a Ni2+ effective moment of p(eff) = 3.3(1) and dominant antiferromagnetic interactions with {\Theta}(CW) = -11.3(7) K. No phase transition to a long-range magnetically ordered state is observed by specific heat measurements down to T = 0.1 K. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements on sub-stoichiometric NiRh2O4 reveal possible valence-bond behavior and show no visible signs of magnetic ordering. NiRh2O4 provides a platform on which to explore the previously unknown and potentially rich physics of spin one interacting on the diamond lattice, including the realization of theoretically predicted quantum spin liquid and topological paramagnet states.

We report on a calculation of the B*Bpi coupling in lattice QCD. The strong matrix element for a B* to Bpi transition is directly related to the leading order low-energy constant in heavy meson chiral perturbation theory (HMChPT) for B mesons. We carry out our calculation directly at the b-quark mass using a non-perturbatively tuned clover action that controls discretization effects of order pa and (ma)^n for all n. Our analysis is performed on RBC/UKQCD gauge configurations using domain-wall fermions and the Iwasaki gauge action at two lattice spacings of ainverse = 1.729(25) GeV, ainverse = 2.281(28) GeV, and unitary pion masses down to 290 MeV. We achieve good statistical precision and control all systematic uncertainties, giving a final result for the HMChPT coupling g_b = 0.56(3)stat(7)sys in the continuum and at the physical light-quark masses. This is the first calculation performed directly at the physical b-quark mass and lies in the region one would expect from carrying out an interpolation between previous results at the charm mass and at the static point., Comment: Postprint: version accepted for publication

We calculate the $B \to\pi\ell\nu$ and $B_s \to K \ell\nu$ form factors in dynamical lattice QCD. We use the (2+1)-flavor RBC-UKQCD gauge-field ensembles generated with the domain-wall fermion and Iwasaki gauge actions. For the $b$ quarks we use the anisotropic clover action with a relativistic heavy-quark interpretation. We analyze two lattice spacings $a \approx 0.11, 0.086$ fm and unitary pion masses as light as $M_\pi \approx 290$ MeV. We simultaneously extrapolate our numerical results to the physical light-quark masses and to the continuum and interpolate in the pion/kaon energy using SU(2) "hard-pion" chiral perturbation theory. We provide complete error budgets for the form factors $f_+(q^2)$ and $f_0(q^2)$ at three momenta that span the $q^2$ range accessible in our numerical simulations. We extrapolate these results to $q^2 = 0$ using a model-independent $z$-parametrization and present our final form factors as the $z$-coefficients and the matrix of correlations between them. Our results agree with other lattice determinations using staggered light quarks and provide important independent cross-checks. Both $B \to\pi\ell\nu$ and $B_s \to K \ell\nu$ decays enable a determination of the CKM matrix element $|V_{ub}|$. To illustrate this, we perform a combined $z$-fit of our numerical $B\to\pi\ell\nu$ form-factor data with the experimental branching-fraction measurements leaving the relative normalization as a free parameter; we obtain $|V_{ub}| = 3.61(32) \times 10^{-3}$, where the error includes statistical and systematic uncertainties. This approach can be applied to $B_s\to K \ell\nu$ decay to determine $|V_{ub}|$ once the process has been measured experimentally. Finally, in anticipation of future measurements, we make predictions for $B \to \pi\ell\nu$ and $B_s\to K \ell\nu$ Standard-Model differential branching fractions and forward-backward asymmetries., Comment: V3: References and discussions added. Large tables move to appendix. 39 pages, 22 tables, 23 figures. Version published in Physical Review D

We report on a calculation of the $B^*B\pi$ coupling in lattice QCD. The strong matrix element $\langle B \pi | B^*\rangle$ is directly related to the leading order low-energy constant in heavy meson chiral perturbation theory (HM$\chi$PT) for $B$-mesons. We carry out our calculation directly at the $b$-quark mass using a non-perturbatively tuned clover action that controls discretisation effects of order $|\vec{p}a|$ and $(ma)^n$ for all $n$. Our analysis is performed on RBC/UKQCD gauge configurations using domain wall fermions and the Iwasaki gauge action at two lattice spacings of $a^{-1}=1.73(3)$ GeV, $a^{-1}=2.28(3)$ GeV, and unitary pion masses down to 290 MeV. We achieve good statistical precision and control all systematic uncertainties, giving a final result for the HM$\chi$PT coupling $g_b = 0.569(48)_{stat}(59)_{sys}$ in the continuum and at the physical light-quark masses. This is the first calculation performed directly at the physical $b$-quark mass and lies in the region one would expect from carrying out an interpolation between previous results at the charm mass and at the static point., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

We present results for exclusive $b\to c$ semileptonic decays of ground state triply-heavy baryons and for semileptonic $c\to s,d$ decays of doubly heavy ground state $cb$ baryons. In both cases, we have derived for the first time heavy quark spin symmetry relations for the hadronic amplitudes near zero recoil. Though strictly valid in the limit of very large heavy quark masses and near zero recoil, they turn out to be reasonable accurate for the whole available phase space in these decays and for the actual heavy quark masses we use. With these relations we have made approximate, but model independent, predictions for ratios of decay widths. In the case of spin-1/2 $cb$ baryons, we find that hyperfine mixing in the wave function has a great impact on their $c\to s,d$ decay widths., Comment: 8 Latex pages, 5 Tables. Contribution to "Xth Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum"

We study the semileptonic $b\to c$ decays of the lowest-lying triply-heavy baryons made from $b$ and $c$ quarks in the limit $m_b, m_c \gg \Lambda_\mathrm{QCD}$ and close to the zero recoil point. The separate heavy quark spin symmetries strongly constrain the matrix elements, leading to single form factors for $ccb\to ccc$, $bbc\to ccb$, and $bbb\to bbc$ baryon decays. We also study the effects on these systems of using a $Y$-shaped confinement potential, as suggested by lattice QCD results for the interaction between three static quarks., Comment: 12 latex pages, 3 figures, 3 tables. Enlarged discussion. New references added

As part of the UKQCD and RBC collaborations' N_f=2+1 domain-wall fermion phenomenology programme, we calculate the first two moments of the light-cone distribution amplitudes of the pseudoscalar mesons pion and kaon and the (longitudinally-polarised) vector mesons rho, K-star and phi. We obtain the desired quantities with good precision and are able to discern the expected quark-mass dependence of SU(3)-flavour breaking effects. An important ingredient of the calculation is the nonperturbative renormalisation of lattice operators using the RI'/MOM technique., Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures

We calculated the first two moments of the light-cone distribution amplitudes for the pseudoscalar mesons ($\pi$ and $K$) and the longitudinally polarised vector mesons ($\rho$, $K^*$ and $\phi$) as part of the UKQCD and RBC collaborations' $N_f=2+1$ domain-wall fermion phenomenology programme. These quantities were obtained with a good precision and, in particular, the expected effects of $SU(3)$-flavour symmetry breaking were observed. Operators were renormalised non-perturbatively and extrapolations to the physical point were made, guided by leading order chiral perturbation theory. The main results presented are for two volumes, $16^3\times 32$ and $24^3\times 64$, with a common lattice spacing. Preliminary results for a lattice with a finer lattice spacing, $32^3\times64$, are discussed and a first look is taken at the use of twisted boundary conditions to extract distribution amplitudes., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Talk given by Thomas Rae at the XXVIII International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2010), Villasimius, Italy, June 2010

We present physical results obtained from simulations using 2+1 flavors of domain wall quarks and the Iwasaki gauge action at two values of the lattice spacing $a$, ($a^{-1}$=\,1.73\,(3)\,GeV and $a^{-1}$=\,2.28\,(3)\,GeV). On the coarser lattice, with $24^3\times 64\times 16$ points, the analysis of ref.[1] is extended to approximately twice the number of configurations. The ensembles on the finer $32^3\times 64\times 16$ lattice are new. We explain how we use lattice data obtained at several values of the lattice spacing and for a range of quark masses in combined continuum-chiral fits in order to obtain results in the continuum limit and at physical quark masses. We implement this procedure at two lattice spacings, with unitary pion masses in the approximate range 290--420\,MeV (225--420\,MeV for partially quenched pions). We use the masses of the $\pi$ and $K$ mesons and the $\Omega$ baryon to determine the physical quark masses and the values of the lattice spacing. While our data are consistent with the predictions of NLO SU(2) chiral perturbation theory, they are also consistent with a simple analytic ansatz leading to an inherent uncertainty in how best to perform the chiral extrapolation that we are reluctant to reduce with model-dependent assumptions about higher order corrections. Our main results include $f_\pi=124(2)_{\rm stat}(5)_{\rm syst}$\,MeV, $f_K/f_\pi=1.204(7)(25)$ where $f_K$ is the kaon decay constant, $m_s^{\bar{\textrm{MS}}}(2\,\textrm{GeV})=(96.2\pm 2.7)$\,MeV and $m_{ud}^{\bar{\textrm{MS}}}(2\,\textrm{GeV})=(3.59\pm 0.21)$\,MeV\, ($m_s/m_{ud}=26.8\pm 1.4$) where $m_s$ and $m_{ud}$ are the mass of the strange-quark and the average of the up and down quark masses respectively, $[\Sigma^{\msbar}(2 {\rm GeV})]^{1/3} = 256(6)\; {\rm MeV}$, where $\Sigma$ is the chiral condensate, the Sommer scale $r_0=0.487(9)$\,fm and $r_1=0.333(9)$\,fm., Comment: 129 pages, 59 figures, Published version containing an extended discussion of reweighting and including a new appendix (Appendix C)

Using partially twisted boundary conditions we compute the K->pi semi-leptonic form factors in the range of momentum transfers 0 <~ q^2 <= q^2_{max}=(mK-mpi)^2 in lattice QCD with N_f=2+1 dynamical flavours. In this way we are able to determine f+(0) without any interpolation in the momentum transfer, thus eliminating one source of systematic error. This study confirms our earlier phenomenological ansatz for the strange quark mass dependence of the scalar form factor. We identify and estimate potentially significant NNLO effects in the chiral expansion that guides the extrapolation of the data to the physical point. Our main result is f+(0) = 0.9599(34)(^{+31}_{-43})(14)$, where the first error is statistical, the second error is due to the uncertainties in the chiral extrapolation of the lattice data and the last error is an estimate of potential discretisation effects., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

We study the semileptonic decays of the lowest-lying $bc$ baryons to the lowest-lying $cc$ baryons ($\Xi_{bc}^{(\prime*)}\to \Xi_{cc}^{(*)}$ and $\Omega_{bc}^{(\prime*)}\to \Omega_{cc}^{(*)}$), in the limit $m_b, m_c \gg \Lambda_\mathrm{QCD}$ and close to the zero recoil point. The separate heavy quark spin symmetries make it possible to describe all these decays using a single form factor. We also show how these constraints can be used to test the validity of different quark model calculations. $bb$ to $bc$ baryon decays are also discussed., Comment: 4 latex pages. Talk given at The 5-th International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics (QNP09), Beijing, September 2009

One of the major challenges of particle physics has been to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of quark flavor and measurements and theoretical interpretations of their results have advanced tremendously: apart from masses and quantum numbers of flavor particles, there now exist detailed measurements of the characteristics of their interactions allowing stringent tests of Standard Model predictions. Among the most interesting phenomena of flavor physics is the violation of the CP symmetry that has been subtle and difficult to explore. Till early 1990s observations of CP violation were confined to neutral $K$ mesons, but since then a large number of CP-violating processes have been studied in detail in neutral $B$ mesons. In parallel, measurements of the couplings of the heavy quarks and the dynamics for their decays in large samples of $K, D$, and $B$ mesons have been greatly improved in accuracy and the results are being used as probes in the search for deviations from the Standard Model. In the near future, there will be a transition from the current to a new generation of experiments, thus a review of the status of quark flavor physics is timely. This report summarizes the results of the current generation of experiments that is about to be completed and it confronts these results with the theoretical understanding of the field., Comment: Report of the CKM workshop, Rome 9-13th Sep. 2008, 340 pages, 106 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Repts

We compute the Kl3 and pion form factors using partially twisted boundary conditions. The twists are chosen so that the Kl3 form factors are calculated directly at zero momentum transfer (q^2=0), removing the need for a q^2 interpolation, while the pion form factor is determined at values of q^2 close to q^2=0. The simulations are performed on an ensemble of the RBC/UKQCD collaboration's gauge configurations with Domain Wall Fermions and the Iwaski gauge action with an inverse lattice spacing of 1.73(3) GeV. Simulating at a single pion mass of 330 MeV, we find the pion charge radius to be < r^2>_{330 MeV}=0.354(31) fm^2 which, using NLO SU(2) chiral perturbation theory, translates to a value of =0.418(31) fm^2 for a physical pion. For the value of the Kl3 form factor, f_{K\pi}^+(q^2), determined directly at q^2=0, we find a value of f_{K\pi}^+(0)=0.9742(41) at this particular quark mass, which agrees well with our earlier result (0.9774(35)) obtained using the standard, indirect method., Comment: 7pages, 3 figures, presented at the XXVI International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 14-19, 2008, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

We present results for the first two moments of the light-cone distribution amplitudes of the pion and kaon pseudo-scalar mesons and of the rho, K* and phi vector mesons. The calculations are performed on the RBC/UKQCD collaborations' ensembles generated with the Iwasaki gauge action and with 2+1 flavours of domain wall fermions. In addition we also provide some results on the necessary non-perturbative renormalisation which we perform using the Rome-Southampton method. We discuss the benefits of the momentum source approach such as much smaller statistical errors and the possibility to see effects of the discretisation., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, Talk given at the XXVI International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 14 - 19 2008, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

We use one-loop $\SU(2)_L\times \SU(2)_R$ chiral perturbation theory ($\SU(2)$ ChPT) to study the behaviour of the form-factors for semileptonic $K\to\pi$ decays with the pion mass at $q^2=0$ and at $q^2_{\textrm{max}}=(m_K-m_\pi)^2$, where $q$ is the momentum transfer. At $q^2=0$, the final-state pion has an energy of approximately $m_K/2$ (for $m_K\gg m_\pi$) and so is not soft, nevertheless it is possible to compute the chiral logarithms, i.e. the corrections of $O(m_\pi^2\log(m_\pi^2))$. We envisage that our results at $q^2=0$ will be useful in extrapolating lattice QCD results to physical masses. A consequence of the Callan-Treiman relation is that in the $\SU(2)$ chiral limit ($m_u=m_d=0$), the scalar form factor $f^0$ at $\qsqmax$ is equal to $f^{(K)}/f$, the ratio of the kaon and pion leptonic decay constants in the chiral limit. Lattice results for the scalar form factor at $\qsqmax$ are obtained with excellent precision, but at the masses at which the simulations are performed the results are about 25% below $f^{(K)}/f$ and are increasing only very slowly. We investigate the chiral behaviour of $f^0(\qsqmax)$ and find large corrections which provide a semi-quantitative explanation of the difference between the lattice results and $f^{(K)}/f$. We stress the generality of the relation $f^0_{P\to\pi}(\qsqmax)=f^{(P)}/f$ in the $\SU(2)$ chiral limit, where $P=K,D$ or $B$ and briefly comment on the potential value of using this theorem in obtaining physical results from lattice simulations., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures

We compute the electromagnetic form factor of a "pion" with mass m_pi=330MeV at low values of Q^2\equiv -q^2, where q is the momentum transfer. The computations are performed in a lattice simulation using an ensemble of the RBC/UKQCD collaboration's gauge configurations with Domain Wall Fermions and the Iwasaki gauge action with an inverse lattice spacing of 1.73(3)GeV. In order to be able to reach low momentum transfers we use partially twisted boundary conditions using the techniques we have developed and tested earlier. For the pion of mass 330MeV we find a charge radius given by _{330MeV}=0.354(31)fm^2 which, using NLO SU(2) chiral perturbation theory, extrapolates to a value of =0.418(31)fm^2 for a physical pion, in agreement with the experimentally determined result. We confirm that there is a significant reduction in computational cost when using propagators computed from a single time-slice stochastic source compared to using those with a point source; for m_pi=330MeV and volume (2.74fm)^3 we find the reduction is approximately a factor of 12., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures

We have simulated QCD using 2+1 flavors of domain wall quarks on a $(2.74 {\rm fm})^3$ volume with an inverse lattice scale of $a^{-1} = 1.729(28)$ GeV. The up and down (light) quarks are degenerate in our calculations and we have used four values for the ratio of light quark masses to the strange (heavy) quark mass in our simulations: 0.217, 0.350, 0.617 and 0.884. We have measured pseudoscalar meson masses and decay constants, the kaon bag parameter $B_K$ and vector meson couplings. We have used SU(2) chiral perturbation theory, which assumes only the up and down quark masses are small, and SU(3) chiral perturbation theory to extrapolate to the physical values for the light quark masses. While next-to-leading order formulae from both approaches fit our data for light quarks, we find the higher order corrections for SU(3) very large, making such fits unreliable. We also find that SU(3) does not fit our data when the quark masses are near the physical strange quark mass. Thus, we rely on SU(2) chiral perturbation theory for accurate results. We use the masses of the $\Omega$ baryon, and the $\pi$ and $K$ mesons to set the lattice scale and determine the quark masses. We then find $f_\pi = 124.1(3.6)_{\rm stat}(6.9)_{\rm syst} {\rm MeV}$, $f_K = 149.6(3.6)_{\rm stat}(6.3)_{\rm syst} {\rm MeV}$ and $f_K/f_\pi = 1.205(0.018)_{\rm stat}(0.062)_{\rm syst}$. Using non-perturbative renormalization to relate lattice regularized quark masses to RI-MOM masses, and perturbation theory to relate these to $\bar{\rm MS}$ we find $ m_{ud}^{\bar{\rm MS}}(2 {\rm GeV}) = 3.72(0.16)_{\rm stat}(0.33)_{\rm ren}(0.18)_{\rm syst} {\rm MeV}$ and $m_{s}^{\bar{\rm MS}}(2 {\rm GeV}) = 107.3(4.4)_{\rm stat}(9.7)_{\rm ren}(4.9)_{\rm syst} {\rm MeV}$., Comment: 133 pages, 25 figures

Omnes dispersion relations make a connection between form factors for exclusive semileptonic decays and phase shifts in the corresponding elastic scattering channels. We describe two applications. In the first, we use lattice form factor calculations to learn about phase shifts in elastic s-wave isospin-1/2 channels for K pi, B pi, D pi and D K scattering. The aim of the second application is to make the determination of the CKM matrix element magnitude |Vub| from exclusive semileptonic B to pi decays competitive with that from inclusive decays. Here we use many subtractions in an Omnes dispersion relation to motivate a simple fitting function, allowing data to constrain the q^2 shape of the differential decay rate and theory, primarily lattice results, to provide normalisation via form factor values., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX

We present results for the couplings of light vector mesons to vector and tensor currents and on the low moments of the light-cone distribution amplitudes of the pion and kaon. The calculations are performed on the RBC and UKQCD collaborations' ensembles generated with the Iwasaki gauge action and with 2+1 flavours of domain wall fermions. The (preliminary) results for the ratios of the couplings of the vector meson to the vector and tensor currents (f_V and f^T_V respectively) in the MSbar scheme at 2GeV are: f_\rho^T/f_\rho=0.681(20); f_{K^\ast}^T/f_{K^\ast}=0.712(11) and f_\phi^T/f_\phi=0.751(9). For the first moment of the kaon's distribution amplitude we find (in the same scheme and at the same scale) _K=0.029(2) and for the second moment _\pi=0.28(3) and _K=0.27(2)., Comment: Talk presented at the XXV International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 30 - August 4 2007, Regensburg, Germany, 7 pages

The introduction of partially twisted boundary conditions allows weak and electromagnetic form factors to be evaluated at specified values of the hadronic momenta (and hence momentum transfers) in lattice simulations. We present and demonstrate this technique for the computation of the K->pi semileptonic form factor at zero momentum transfer and for the electromagnetic form factor of the pion at arbitrarily small momentum transfers. These exploratory computations are carried out in full QCD with 3 flavours of sea quarks, but with only two values of m_u=m_d which limits our ability to perform the chiral extrapolations. The results should therefore be viewed primarily as a demonstration of the feasibility of the method. For the K-> pi form factor we compare the new technique to the conventional approach and for the pion form factor we assess our results for very small momentum transfer with the help of chiral perturbation theory., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures

The semileptonic decay B->pi is studied starting from a simple quark model and taking into account the effect of the B* resonance. A novel, multiply subtracted, Omn\`es dispersion relation has been implemented to extend the predictions of the quark model to all physical q^2 values. We find |V_{ub}|=0.0034 +/- 0.0003(exp.)+/- 0.0007(theory), in good agreement with experiment., Comment: Three pages, two figures. To appear in the proceedings of Quark Confinament and Hadron Spectrum VII. Azores, September 2006

The semileptonic decay B->pi is studied starting from a simple quark model that takes into account the effect of the B* resonance. A novel, multiply subtracted, Omnes dispersion relation has been implemented to extend the predictions of the quark model to all q^2 values accesible in the physical decay. By comparison to the experimental data, we extract |V_ub|=0.0034 +/- 0.0003(exp.) +/- 0.0007(theory). As a further test of the model, we have also studied D->pi and D->K decays for which we get good agreement with experiment., Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures. Talk given at the IV International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics (QNP06), Madrid, June 5th - 10th 2006

We present a lattice computation of the first moment of the kaon's leading-twist distribution amplitude. We use ensembles with 2+1 dynamical flavours of domain wall fermions and the Iwasaki gauge action from the RBC and UKQCD joint dataset. We observe the expected chiral behaviour and obtain <\xi>(2GeV)=3/5a_K^1(2GeV)=0.032(3), which agrees very well with other results obtained using QCD sum-rules and the recent lattice result from the UKQCD/QCDSF collaboration., Comment: Talk at Lattice 2006; to be published in Proceedings Of Science as POS(LAT2006)111. 7 pages; 1 figures

We present a lattice computation of the first moment of the kaon's leading-twist distribution amplitude. The results were computed using ensembles with 2+1 dynamical flavours with the domain wall fermion action and Iwasaki gauge action from the RBC and UKQCD joint dataset. The first moment is non-zero because of SU(3)-breaking effects, and we find that we are able to measure these effects very clearly. We observe the expected chiral behaviour and finally obtain <\xi>(2GeV) = 3/5*a_K^1(2GeV) = 0.032(3), which agrees very well with results obtained using sum-rules, but with a significantly smaller error., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, minor changes

We review the recent experimental and theoretical progress in the determination of |V_{ud}| and |V_{us}|, and the status of the most stringent test of CKM unitarity. Future prospects on |V_{cd}| and |V_{cs}| are also briefly discussed., Comment: 40 pages, Proceedings of the CKM 2005 Workshop (WG1), UC San Diego, 15-18 March 2005

We investigate the use of partially twisted boundary conditions in a lattice simulation with two degenerate flavours of improved Wilson sea quarks. The use of twisted boundary conditions on a cubic volume (L^3) gives access to components of hadronic momenta other than integer multiples of 2*pi/L. Partial twisting avoids the need for new gluon configurations for every choice of momentum, while, as recently demonstrated, keeping the finite-volume errors exponentially small for the physical quantities investigated in this letter. In this study we focus on the spectrum of pseudo scalar and vector mesons, on their leptonic decay constants and on Z_P, the matrix element of the pseudo scalar density between the pseudo scalar meson and the vacuum. The results confirm the momentum shift imposed by these boundary conditions and in addition demonstrate that they do not introduce any appreciable noise. We therefore advocate the use of partially twisted boundary conditions in applications where good momentum resolution is necessary., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures

The semileptonic $B\to \pi l^+ \nu_l$ decay is studied starting from a simple quark model which includes the influence of the $B^*$ pole. To extend the predictions of a nonrelativistic constituent quark model from its region of applicability near $q^2_{\rm max}=(m_B-m_\pi)^2$ to all $q^2$ values accessible in the physical decay, we use a novel multiply-subtracted Omn\`es dispersion relation, which considerably diminishes the form factor dependence on the elastic $\pi B \to \pi B$ scattering amplitudes at high energies. By comparison to the experimental branching fraction we extract $|V_{ub}| = 0.0034 \pm 0.0003 ({\rm exp}) \pm 0.0007 ({\rm theory})$. To further test our framework, we also study $D\to \pi$ and $D\to K$ decays and find excellent results $\frac{f^+_\pi(0)}{f^+_K(0)} = 0.80 \pm 0.03, \quad \frac{{\cal B}(D^0\to \pi^- e^+ \nu_e)}{{\cal B}(D^0\to K^- e^+ \nu_e)}= 0.079 \pm 0.008$. In particular for the $D\to \pi$ case, we reproduce, with high accuracy, the three-flavor lattice QCD results recently obtained by the Fermilab-MILC-HPQCD Collaboration. While for the $D\to K$ case, we successfully describe the data for $f^+(q^2)/f^+(0)$ recently measured by the FOCUS Collaboration., Comment: 17 pages, minor modifications. Accepted in PRD

We report calculations of B_K using two flavours of dynamical clover-improved Wilson lattice fermions and look for dependence on the dynamical quark mass at fixed lattice spacing. We see some evidence for dynamical quark effects. In particular B_K decreases as the sea quark masses are reduced towards the up/down quark mass. Our meson masses are quite heavy and a firm prediction of B_K is a task for future simulations., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure. Talk given at Lattice2004(weak), Fermilab 21-26 June 2004

We report calculations of the parameter B_K appearing in the Delta S=2 neutral kaon mixing matrix element, whose uncertainty limits the power of unitarity triangle constraints for testing the standard model or looking for new physics. We use two flavours of dynamical clover-improved Wilson lattice fermions and look for dependence on the dynamical quark mass at fixed lattice spacing. We see some evidence for dynamical quark effects and in particular B_K decreases as the sea quark masses are reduced towards the up/down quark mass., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, uses JHEP3.cls, added comments and references

We present results from quenched lattice QCD for the form factors for the decay $B\to\rho l\nu$. The calculations are performed using a nonperturbatively improved action and operators at two values of the lattice spacing. The bottom quark mass is reached by extrapolation from simulations performed with heavy quark masses around the charm mass. Our primary result is for the partially integrated decay rate $\Gamma_{PI}$ over the range $12.7\gev^2 < q^2 < 18.2\gev^2$: \Gamma_PI = (4.9^{+12}_{-10}{+0}_{-14}) X 10^12 s^-1, Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, corrected abstract, typos corrected

We present results for masses of spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 double-charm baryons in quenched lattice QCD, from an exploratory study using a non-perturbatively improved clover action at beta=6.2. We have studied local operators and we observe, after appropriate projections, a good signal for the ground states. We also present results for single-charmed baryons and spin-splittings for both double- and single-charmed states., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures