Tau Decays into Kaons

Abstract

Predictions for semi-leptonic decay rates of the tau lepton into two and three meson final states with one or two kaons are derived, including a discussion of K_S pi- K_S, K_L pi- K_L and K_S pi- K_L. The hadronic matrix elements are expressed in terms of form factors, which can be predicted by chiral Lagrangians supplemented by informations about all possible low-lying resonances in the different channels. Isospin symmetry relations among the different final states are carefully taken into account. The calculated branching ratios are compared with measured decay rates where data are available.