Extraction of the light quark mass ratio from the decays psi' --> J/psi pi^0 (eta)

Abstract

Light quark masses are important fundamental parameters of the Standard Model. The decays psi'-->J/psi pi^0 (eta) were widely used in determining the light quark mass ratio m_u/m_d. However, there is a large discrepancy between the resulting value of m_u/m_d and the one determined from the light pseudoscalar meson masses. Using the technique of non-relativistic effective field theory, we show that intermediate charmed meson loops lead to a sizeable contribution to the decays and hence make the psi'-->J/psi pi^0 (eta) decays not suitable for a precise extraction of the light quark mass ratio.