Pion and kaon physics with improved staggered quarks

Abstract

We compute pseudoscalar meson masses and decay constants using staggered quarks on lattices with three flavors of sea quarks and lattice spacings $\approx 0.12$ fm and $\approx 0.09$ fm. We fit partially quenched results to ``staggered chiral perturbation theory'' formulae, thereby taking into account the effects of taste-symmetry violations. Chiral logarithms are observed. From the fits we calculate $f_{\pi }$ and $f_K$, extract Gasser-Leutwyler parameters of the chiral Lagrangian, and (modulo rather large perturbative errors) find the light and strange quark masses.

Lattice2003(spectrum); 3 pages, 1 eps figure