$\tau$ decay into a pseudoscalar and an axial-vector meson

Abstract

We study theoretically the decay $\tau^- \to \nu_\tau P^- A$, with $P^-$ a $\pi^-$ or $K^-$ and $A$ an axial-vector resonance $b_1(1235)$, $h_1(1170)$, $h_1(1380)$, $a_1(1260)$, $f_1(1285)$ or any of the two poles of the $K_1(1270)$. The process proceeds through a triangle mechanism where a vector meson pair is first produced from the weak current and then one of the vectors produces two pseudoscalars, one of which reinteracts with the other vector to produce the axial resonance. For the initial weak hadronic production we use a recent formalism to account for the hadronization after the initial quark-antiquark pair produced from the weak current, which explicitly filters G-parity states and obtain easy analytic formulas after working out the angular momentum algebra. The model also takes advantage of the chiral unitary theories to evaluate the vector-pseudoscalar amplitudes, where the axial-vector resonances were obtained as dynamically generated from the VP interaction. We make predictions for invariant mass distribution and branching ratios for the channels considered.