The γπ → ππ anomaly from lattice QCD and dispersion relations

We propose a formalism to extract the γπ → ππ chiral anomaly F3π from calculations in lattice QCD performed at larger-than-physical pion masses. To this end, we start from a dispersive representation of the γ(*)π → ππ amplitude, whose main quark-mass dependence arises from the ππ scattering phase shift and can be derived from chiral perturbation theory via the inverse-amplitude method. With parameters constrained by lattice calculations of the P-wave phase shift, we use this combination of dispersion relations and effective field theory to extrapolate two recent γ(*)π → ππ calculations in lattice QCD to the physical point. Our formalism allows us to extract the radiative coupling of the ρ(770) meson and, for the first time, the chiral anomaly F3π = 38(16)(11) GeV−3. The result is consistent with the chiral prediction albeit within large uncertainties, which will improve in accordance with progress in future lattice-QCD computations.