Dispersive analysis of omega --> 3pi and phi --> 3pi decays

Abstract

We study the three-pion decays of the lightest isoscalar vector mesons, omega and phi, in a dispersive framework that allows for a consistent description of final-state interactions between all three pions. Our results are solely dependent on the phenomenological input for the pion-pion P-wave scattering phase shift. We predict the Dalitz plot distributions for both decays and compare our findings to recent measurements of the phi --> 3pi Dalitz plot by the KLOE and CMD-2 collaborations. Dalitz plot parameters for future precision measurements of omega --> 3pi are predicted. We also calculate the pi-pi P-wave inelasticity contribution from omega-pi intermediate states.