$D^+ \to K^- \pi^+ \pi^+$ - the weak vector current

Abstract

Studies of D and B mesons decays into hadrons have been used to test the standard model in the last fifteen years. A heavy meson decay involves the combined effects of a primary weak vertex and subsequent hadronic final state interactions, which determine the shapes of Dalitz plots. The fact that final products involve light mesons indicates that the QCD vacuum is an active part of the problem. This makes the description of these processes rather involved and, in spite of its importance, phenomenological analyses tend to rely on crude models. Our group produced, some time ago, a schematic calculation of the decay $D^+ \to K^- \pi^+ \pi^+$, which provided a reasonable description of data. Its main assumption was the dominance of the weak vector-current, which yields a non-factorizable interaction. Here we refine that calculation by including the correct momentum dependence of the weak vertex and extending the energy ranges of $\pi\pi$ and $K\pi$ subamplitudes present into the problem. These new features make the present treatment more realistic and bring theory closer to data.