Measurement of the decay distribution of η′ → π+π−γ and evidence for the box anomaly

Abstract The distribution of m ( π + π − ) in the decay η ′ → π + π − γ has been measured with the Crystal Barrel detector. The results are based on a total of 7392 observed η′ decays. The box anomaly constant is extracted from this and its value is found to agree well with theoretical expectations. The pseudoscalar nonet parameters ( f 1 , f 8 and θ PS ) are determined. Finally, we find that there is a problem of consistency between QCD and the standard VDM assumption.