QCD sum rules: form factors and wave functions

Abstract

The shape of hadronic distribution amplitudes (DAs) is a critical issue for the perturbative QCD of hard exclusive processes. Recent CLEO data on gamma gamma* -> pi^0 form factor clearly favor a pion DA close to the asymptotic form. We argue that QCD sum rules for the moments of the pion DA \varphi_\pi(x) are unreliable, so that the humpy shape of \varphi_\pi (x) obtained by Chernyak and Zhitnitsky is a result of model assumptions rather than an unambigous consequence of QCD sum rules. This conclusion is also supported by a direct QCD sum rule calculation of the gamma gamma* -> pi^0 form factor which gives a result very close to the CLEO data.