Relativistic, model-independent determination of electromagnetic finite-size effects beyond the pointlike approximation

Abstract

We present a relativistic and model-independent method to derive structure-dependent electromagnetic finite-size effects. This is a systematic procedure, particularly well-suited for automation, which works at arbitrarily high orders in the large-volume expansion. Structure-dependent coefficients appear as zero-momentum derivatives of physical form factors which can be obtained through experimental measurements or auxiliary lattice calculations. As an application we derive the electromagnetic finite-size effects on the pseudoscalar meson mass and leptonic decay amplitude, through orders $\mathcal{O}(1/{L}^{3})$ and $\mathcal{O}(1/{L}^{2})$, respectively. The structure dependence appears at this order through the meson charge radius and the real radiative leptonic amplitude, which are known experimentally.