Field-theoretical approach to neutral pion contribution to muon $g-2$

TL;DR

This paper presents a field-theoretical method to accurately compute the neutral pion's contribution to muon g-2, resolving previous issues with model-based formulas by defining the effect via QCD vacuum expectations.

Contribution

It introduces a field-theoretical framework that isolates the neutral pion contribution to muon g-2, eliminating the pathological aspects of earlier model-dependent formulas.

Findings

Identifies the pion pole term as the key contribution

Resolves the previous formula's pathology by a new field-theoretical definition

Clarifies the role of the imaginary part of the pion propagator

Abstract

The hadronic light-by-light scattering induces a substantial contribution to the muon $g-2$ with present accuracy of its measurement. The effect caused by the neutral pion through this scattering on the muon $g-2$ has been scrutinized intensively by model calculation and lattice QCD simulation. All of those estimates have been done based on one formula, but it has one pathological aspect. The purpose of this article is to resolve such a pathology from a field-theoretical approach, i.e., by defining the effect in question as the neutral pion intermediate state contribution to the QCD vacuum expectation value of time-ordered product of four electromagnetic currents. It leads (1) the pion pole term corresponding to the imaginary part of the pion propagator $\frac{1}{q^2 - m_\pi^2 + \mathrm{i} \epsilon}$, (2) and no principle value term corresponding to its real part, resolving the pathology.