Meson Decay Constant Predictions of the Valence Approximation to Lattice QCD

Abstract

We evaluate $f_π/ m_ρ$, $f_K/ m_ρ$, $1/f_ρ$, and $ m_ϕ/(f_ϕ m_ρ)$, extrapolated to physical quark mass, zero lattice spacing and infinite volume, for lattice QCD with Wilson quarks in the valence (quenched) approximation. The predicted $m_ϕ/(f_ϕ m_ρ)$ differs from experiment by less than its statistical uncertainty of approximately 15\%. The other three constants are 10\% to 20\% below experiment, equivalent to between one and two times the corresponding statistical uncertainties.

14 pages of Latex using REVTEX macros, included, plus Postscript for 2 figures, also included. (corrected two typos, one somewhat confusing)