The decay contribution to the parity-odd fragmentation functions

Abstract

Parity violation in QCD is a consequence of the so-called QCD $\theta$-vacuum. As a result, parity-odd fragmentation functions are introduced and they bring in new observables in the back-to-back dihadron productions in $e^+e^-$-annihilation experiments [Phys.Rev.Lett. 106 (2011) 042001]. The experimental measurements on the corresponding parity-odd fragmentation functions can shed light on the local CP violation effect in QCD. On the other hand, the weak interaction also violates the parity symmetry. Therefore, the weak decay of heavier hadrons can also contribute to the parity-odd effects in fragmentation functions. In this paper, we investigate the weak decay contribution to these parity-odd fragmentation functions and compute their contribution to these new observables. In principle, the decay contribution should/can be excluded in the theoretical analysis and experimental measurements. However, this is usually not the common practice so far. Furthermore, in light of that the value of the $\theta$-parameter is extremely small ($\theta < 3 \times 10^{-10}$), the weak-parity-violating contributions become an important background in identifying the strong-parity-violating term. In this paper, we focus on the weak decay contribution of parity-odd fragmentation functions and demonstrate their sizable contribution in a numerical estimate.