Precise prediction of the decay rate for $\eta_b\to \gamma \gamma$ from lattice QCD

Abstract

We calculate the decay rate for $\eta_b \to \gamma \gamma$ in lattice QCD for the first time, providing a precise prediction for the Belle II experiment. Our calculation includes $u$, $d$, $s$ and $c$ quarks in the sea, using gluon field configurations generated by the MILC collaboration, at three values of the lattice spacing from $0.06\;\mathrm{fm}$ to $0.03\;\mathrm{fm}$. All quarks are treated in the Highly Improved Staggered Quark formalism, which enables us to reach the $b$ quark mass for our valence quarks on these fine lattices. We calculate quark-line connected correlation functions only. By working at additional heavy quark masses between those of $c$ and $b$ we map out the behaviour of the ratio $f_{\eta_h}/(M_{\eta_h}^2F_{\eta_h}(0,0))$, where $f$ is the decay constant, $M$, the mass and $F(0,0)$, the form factor for decay to two on-shell photons for the pseudoscalar heavyonium meson, $\eta_h$. This ratio takes the approximate value 0.5 in leading-order non-relativistic QCD (NRQCD) but we are able to give a much more accurate analysis than this. Focussing on the $b$ quark mass, we find a ratio of $0.467(11)$, giving $\Gamma (\eta_b \to \gamma \gamma) = 0.559(32)_{\text{fit}}(1)_{\text{syst}} \: \mathrm{keV}$. Combined with a value for the branching fraction from NRQCD, our result can be used to determine the total width of the $\eta_b$ with a $6\%$ uncertainty.