Asymptotic Limits and Structure of the Pion Form Factor

Abstract

We use dispersive techniques to address the behavior of the pion form factor as $Q^2 \to \infty$ and $Q^2 \to 0$. We perform the matching with the constraints of perturbative QCD and chiral perturbation theory in the high energy and low energy limits, leading to four sum rules. We present a version of the dispersive input which is consistent with the data and with all theoretical constraints. The results indicate that the asymptotic perturbative QCD limit is approached relatively slowly, and give a model independent determination of low energy chiral parameters.