Bilocal Field Approach and Semileptonic Heavy Meson Decays

In this paper we consider the bilocal field approach for $QCD$. We obtain a bilocal effective meson action with a potential kernel given in relativistic covariant form. The corresponding Schwinger--Dyson and Bethe--Salpeter equations are investigated in detail. By introducing weak interactions into the theory we study heavy meson properties as decay constants and semileptonic decay amplitudes. Thereby, the transition from the bilocal field description to the heavy quark effective theory is discussed. Considering as example the semileptonic decay of a pseudoscalar $B$--meson into a pseudoscalar $D$--meson we obtain an integral expression for the corresponding Isgur--Wise function in terms of meson wave functions.Comment: 27 pages and 2 figures (available upon request), DESY 92-07

D mesons at finite temperature and density in the PNJL model

We study D meson resonances in hot, dense quark matter within the NJL model and its Polyakov-loop extension. We show that the mass splitting between D^+ and D^- mesons is moderate, not in excess of 100 MeV. When the decay channel into quasifree quarks opens (Mott effect) at densities above twice saturation density, the decay width reaches rapidly the value of 200 MeV which entails a spectral broadening sufficient to open J/psi dissociation processes. Contrary to results from hadronic mean-field theories, the chiral quark model does not support the scenario of a dropping D meson masses so that scenarios for J/psi dissociation by quark rearrangement built on the lowering of the threshold for this process in a hot and dense medium have to be reconsidered and should account for the spectral broadening.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, references, text and figure 1 adde

η−η′\eta - \eta' in a hot and dense medium

The behavior of $\eta$ and $\eta'$ in hot strange quark matter in weak equilibrium with temperature, is investigated within the SU(3) Nambu-Jona-Lasinio [NJL] model. Possible manifestations of restoration of symmetries, by temperature or density, in the behavior of $\eta$ and $\eta'$ are discussed. The role played by the combined effect of temperature and density in the nature of the phase transition and meson behavior is also analyzed.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. Contribution to the Second International Workshop on Hadron Physics, Effective Theories of Low Energy QCD, 25-29 September, 2002 (Coimbra, Portugal

Survey of heavy-meson observables

We employ a Dyson-Schwinger equation model to effect a unified and uniformly accurate description of light- and heavy-meson observables, which we characterise by heavy-meson leptonic decays, semileptonic heavy-to-heavy and heavy-to-light transitions - B -> D*, D, rho, pi; D -> K*, K, pi, radiative and strong decays - B(s)* -> B(s) gamma; D(s)* -> D(s) gamma, D pi, and the rare B-> K* gamma flavour-changing neutral-current process. We elucidate the heavy-quark limit of these processes and, using a model-independent mass formula valid for all nonsinglet pseudoscalar mesons, demonstrate that their mass rises linearly with the mass of their heaviest constituent. In our numerical calculations we eschew a heavy-quark expansion and rely instead on the observation that the dressed c,b-quark mass functions are well approximated by a constant, interpreted as their constituent-mass: we find M_c=1.32 GeV and M_b=4.65 GeV. The calculated heavy-meson leptonic decay constants and transition form factors are a necessary element in the experimental determination of CKM matrix elements. The results also show that this framework, as employed hitherto, is well able to describe vector meson polarisation observables.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures, REVTEX. Some quantitative modification of tables and figures: calculation of additional processes. To appear in Phys. Rev.