Application of heavy-quark effective theory to lattice QCD: I. Power Corrections

TL;DR

This paper applies heavy-quark effective theory to lattice QCD with Wilson fermions, enabling systematic analysis of discretization errors and power corrections for heavy-light meson observables.

Contribution

It develops a framework for incorporating power corrections in lattice QCD using HQET, accounting for effects of both lattice spacing and heavy-quark mass.

Findings

Derived heavy-quark expansions for lattice observables

Analyzed discretization errors in heavy-light meson properties

Provided explicit examples for mass, decay constant, and form factors

Abstract

Heavy-quark effective theory (HQET) is applied to lattice QCD with Wilson fermions at fixed lattice spacing a. This description is possible because heavy-quark symmetries are respected. It is desirable because the ultraviolet cutoff $1/a$ in current numerical work and the heavy-quark mass $m_Q$ are comparable. Effects of both short distances, a and $1/m_Q$, are captured fully into coefficient functions, which multiply the operators of the usual HQET. Standard tools of HQET are used to develop heavy-quark expansions of lattice observables and, thus, to propagate heavy-quark discretization errors. Three explicit examples are given: namely, the mass, decay constant, and semileptonic form factors of heavy-light mesons.