Meson–baryon couplings from QCD sum rules

Coupling constants of the pseudoscalar mesons to the octet baryons are calculated in the QCD sum rule approach. Two-point correlation function of the baryons are evaluated in a single meson state and the vacuum, which yields the designated coupling. The emphasis is on the flavor SU(3) structure of the coupling constants and reliability in extracting the coupling constants from the two-point correlation functions. We first calculate the baryon-diagonal couplings and study the reliability of the sum rule. The F/D ratio of the coupling is determined in the SU(3) limit. We further formulate the baryon-off-diagonal couplings using the projected correlation functions and the vertex functions, so that the unwanted excited states do not contaminate the sum rule. As an example, the πΛΣ coupling constant is calculated and the flavor SU(3) breaking effect is studied. We find that the effect of SU(3) breaking on the πΛΣ coupling constant is small.