Beyond scalar QED radiative corrections: the $\rho^{\pm}-\rho^0$ width difference, FSR corrections and their impact on $\Delta a_{\mu}^{\rm HVP, LO}[\tau]$

Abstract

In a previous paper arXiv:0708.3256 [hep-ph] we have calculated the radiative corrections to $\rho \to \pi\pi$ decays, aiming to estimate the width difference between charged and neutral rho mesons. There, we have used the scalar QED approximation and taken the convection terms to keep the loop contributions finite in the case of charged rho meson decays. Here we compute the radiative corrections by considering the electromagnetic structure of charged mesons and we also include the full Lorentz structure of the electromagnetic vertices. We re-evaluate the width difference of $\rho^{\pm}-\rho^0$ vector mesons and calculate the structure-dependent contributions to Final State Radiation terms in the $e^+e^-\to \pi^+\pi^-$ cross section. Both effects are important inputs for evaluating the isospin breaking corrections in the dominant hadronic vacuum polarization contributions to the muon $g-2$ when using $\tau$ lepton data.