On the transition form factors of the axial-vector resonance $f_1(1285)$ and its decay into $e^+e^-$

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the transition form factors of the $f_1(1285)$ axial-vector resonance using vector meson dominance, aiming to improve understanding of its decay into $e^+e^-$ and its role in hadronic light-by-light scattering.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the $f_1(1285)$ TFFs with short-distance constraints, highlighting how experimental data constrains these form factors for better theoretical calculations.

Findings

Constraints on the three independent TFFs from experimental data

Analysis of the $f_1 o e^+e^-$ decay process

Impact of future measurements on TFF determination

Abstract

Estimating the contribution from axial-vector intermediate states to hadronic light-by-light scattering requires input on their transition form factors (TFFs). Due to the Landau-Yang theorem, any experiment sensitive to these TFFs needs to involve at least one virtual photon, which complicates their measurement. Phenomenologically, the situation is best for the $f_1(1285)$ resonance, for which information is available from $e^+e^-\to e^+e^- f_1$, $f_1\to 4\pi$, $f_1\to \rho \gamma$, $f_1\to \phi \gamma$, and $f_1\to e^+e^-$. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the $f_1$ TFFs in the framework of vector meson dominance, including short-distance constraints, to determine to which extent the three independent TFFs can be constrained from the available experimental input, a prerequisite for improved calculations of the axial-vector contribution to hadronic light-by-light scattering. In particular, we focus on the process $f_1\to e^+e^-$, evidence for which has been reported recently by SND for the first time, and discuss the impact that future improved measurements will have on the determination of the $f_1$ TFFs.