Eur. Phys. J. C (2012) 72: 2192
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-012-2192-x

Regular Article - Theoretical Physics

Model independent bounds on the modulus of the pion form factor on the unitarity cut below the ωπ threshold

¹ Centre for High Energy Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
² Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, P.O.B. MG-6, 077125, Magurele, Romania
³ Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Taramani, Chennai, 600113, India

Received: 3 September 2012
Revised: 1 October 2012
Published online: 25 October 2012

Abstract

We calculate upper and lower bounds on the modulus of the pion electromagnetic form factor on the unitarity cut below the ωπ inelastic threshold, using as input the phase in the elastic region known via the Fermi–Watson theorem from the ππ P-wave phase shift, and a suitably weighted integral of the modulus squared above the inelastic threshold. The normalization at t=0, the pion charge radius and experimental values at spacelike momenta are used as additional input information. The bounds are model independent, in the sense that they do not rely on specific parametrizations and do not require assumptions on the phase of the form factor above the inelastic threshold. The results provide nontrivial consistency checks on the recent experimental data on the modulus available below the ωπ threshold from e ⁺ e ⁻ annihilation and τ-decay experiments. In particular, at low energies the calculated bounds offer a more precise description of the modulus than the experimental data.