Non-perturbative tests of Heavy Quark Effective Theory

Jochen Heitger, Andreas Juttner, Rainer Sommer, Jan Wennekers

Published 2004-07-20, updated 2005-01-03Version 2

We consider QCD with one massless quark and one heavy quark in a finite volume of linear extent L_0 ~ 0.2 fm. In this situation, HQET represents an expansion in terms of 1/z=1/(m L_0), which we test by a non-perturbative computation of quenched current matrix elements and energies, taking the continuum limit of lattice results. These are seen to approach the corresponding renormalization group invariant matrix elements of the static effective theory as the quark mass becomes large. We are able to obtain estimates of the size of the 1/m-corrections to the static theory, which are also of practical relevance in our recent strategy to implement HQET non-perturbatively by matching to QCD in a finite volume.