Revisiting Roy-Steiner-equation analysis of pion-kaon scattering from lattice QCD data (2506.10619v1)

Abstract: A comprehensive analysis of $\pi K\rightarrow \pi K$ and $\pi\pi\rightarrow K\bar K$ amplitudes at large unphysical pion mass for all important partial waves is presented. A set of crossing-symmetric partial-wave hyperbolic dispersion relations is used to describe lattice QCD data at $m_\pi=391~$MeV. In the present analysis, the amplitudes for the $S$- and $P$-waves are formulated by combining the constraints of analyticity, unitarity, and crossing symmetry, fulfilling Roy-Steiner-type equations. We use these results to investigate the low-lying strange-meson resonances and resolve the instability problem tied to analytic continuation in prior lattice QCD studies based on the $K$-matrix formalism. At $m_\pi=391~$MeV, the rigorous Roy-Steiner-type equation approach allows us to determine the $S$-wave scattering lengths, $m_\pi a_0^{1/2}=\left(0.92_{-0.28}^{+0.06}\right)$, $m_\pi a_0^{3/2}=-\left(0.32_{-0.02}^{+0.05}\right)$, and the $\kappa$ (also known as $K_0^*(700)$) pole position, $\sqrt{s_\kappa}=\left(966_{-24}^{+41}-i 198_{-17}^{+38}\right)~$MeV. We also provide a detailed analysis of the complex validity domain of the Roy-Steiner-type equations.