Weak Radiative Hyperon Decays in Chiral Perturbation Theory

Abstract

The parity-conserving $a$ and parity-violating $b$ amplitudes for weak radiative hyperon decay are studied using chiral perturbation theory. The imaginary parts of $a$ and $b$ are computed using unitarity. The real part of $b$ is dominated by a one-loop infrared divergent graph which is computed. The real part of $a$ has a large theoretical uncertainty and cannot be calculated reliably. Counterterms for the $a$ and $b$ amplitudes are classified using $CPS$ symmetry. The experimental values for decay widths and asymmetries are consistent with theory, with the exception of the asymmetry parameter for the $\Sigma^+ \rightarrow p \gamma$ decay.