A unitary and causal effective field theory

Abstract

We report on a novel scheme based on the chiral Lagrangian. It is used to analyze pion-nucleon scattering, pion photoproduction, and nucleon Compton scattering. Subthreshold partial-wave amplitudes are calculated in chiral perturbation theory and analytically extrapolated with constraints imposed by electromagnetic-gauge invariance, causality and unitarity. Experimental quantities are reproduced up to energies $\sqrt{s}\simeq 1300$ MeV in terms of the parameters relevant at order $Q^3$.

Comments: 4 pages, contribution to the proceedings of the MENU 2010 conference, May 31-June 4, 2010, Williamsburg VA, USA