Density of States of a Coupled-Channel System

Abstract

We demonstrate how an effective density of states can be derived from the S-matrix describing a coupled-channel system. Besides the locations of poles, the phase of the determinant of the S-matrix encodes essential details in characterizing the dynamics of resonant and non-resonant interactions. The density of states is computed for the two channel scattering problem ($\pi\pi, K \bar{K}$, S-wave), and the influences from the various dynamical structures: poles, roots, branch cuts, and Riemann sheets, are examined.