Study of the $\Lambda \to p \ell \bar{\nu}_\ell$ semileptonic decay in lattice QCD

TL;DR

This paper provides the first high-precision lattice QCD calculation of the $\Lambda o p$ semileptonic decay form factors, crucial for extracting $|V_{us}|$ and testing the Standard Model with baryons.

Contribution

It presents the most precise non-perturbative determination of $\Lambda o N$ transition form factors, including second-class contributions, using physical quark masses in lattice QCD.

Findings

Neglecting $q^2$-dependence causes ~4% deviation in decay rate

Results enable more accurate extraction of CKM matrix element $|V_{us}|$

Highlights importance of non-perturbative form factors for experimental precision

Abstract

We present the first lattice QCD determination of the $\Lambda \to N$ vector and axial-vector form factors, which are essential inputs for studying the semileptonic decay $\Lambda \to p \ell \bar{\nu}_\ell$. This channel provides a clean, theoretically controlled avenue for extracting the CKM matrix element $|V_{us}|$ from the baryon sector. Our analysis uses a gauge ensemble with physical light, strange, and charm quark masses and yields the most precise determination to date of the full set of transition form factors -- including second-class contributions -- as well as the associated couplings, radii, and the ratio of muon-to-electron decay rates, an observable sensitive to possible non-standard scalar and tensor interactions. We compare our non-perturbative results with next-to-next-to-leading order expansions in the small parameter $\delta = (m_\Lambda - m_N)/m_\Lambda \approx 0.16$. We find that the common phenomenological approximation of neglecting the $q^2$-dependence of the form factors leads to a $\sim 4\%$ deviation in the decay rate. This underscores the critical importance of precise, fully non-perturbative form factor inputs for achieving the sub-percent precision targets of upcoming experimental programs.