Relativity and the Minimum Slope of the Isgur-Wise Function

Abstract

Sum rules based upon heavy quark effective theory indicate that the Isgur-Wise function $ξ(w)$ has a minimum slope as w approaches 1, which is zero for light degrees of freedom with zero spin and 1/4 for light spin 1/2. Quark-model studies reveal sources for a minimum slope from a variety of relativistic effects. In this paper the origins of the minimum slope in the sum-rule and quark-model approaches are compared by considering hadrons with arbitrary light spin. In both approaches the minimum slope increases with the light spin, but there appears to be no detailed correspondence between the quark-model and sum-rule approaches.