Production Effects and Final-state Interactions in $π_1 \to 3π$

Abstract

We investigate the $π_1(1600)$ signal channel of $3π$ in the $J^{PC} = 1^{-+} \,[ππ]_{1^{--}}π~P$-wave. This channel has recently been analyzed by the COMPASS collaboration using the ``freed-isobar" technique which provides direct experimental access to the lineshape modifications of the $P$-wave $ππ$ sub-channel arising from both final state interactions and production processes such as the Deck mechanism. We motivate a unified formalism combining production effects and final state interactions using the Khuri-Treiman formalism, which is consistent with low-energy unitarity, analyticity, and crossing symmetry, seeded by an initial production amplitude. We demonstrate that the precise lineshape of the $ππ$ mass spectrum can be used to determine the relative strength and complex phase of different production mechanisms contributing to the $3π$ final state. We conduct a global fit of the $π_1$ freed-isobar data set, yielding a multi-dimensional parameterization of the $π_1\to3π$ decay amplitude at COMPASS as a function of both decay and production variables. We identify the contributions from short-range production and the Deck mechanism and extract the total $3π$ invariant mass dependence which will be important for a future extraction of the $π_1$ pole position in the $ρπ$ channel.