A Divergence-Free Method to Extract Observables from Meson Correlation Functions

Abstract

Correlation functions provide information on the properties of mesons in vacuum and of hot nuclear matter. In this Letter, we present a new method to derive a well-defined spectral representation for correlation functions. Combining this method with the quark gap equation and the inhomogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation in the rainbow-ladder approximation, we calculate in-vacuum masses of light mesons and the electrical conductivity of the quark-gluon plasma. The analysis can be extended to other observables of strong-interaction systems.