Scalar and Vector-meson SU(3)\(_F\) Degeneracy Within Unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory

In this paper, we present preliminary results of the study of the SU(3) flavor degeneracy of the lightest scalar and vector meson octets. We employ SU(3)\(_F\) chiral perturbation theory at next-to-leading order, combined with the Inverse Amplitude Method. We vary quark masses and track the poles associated with the resonances across different Riemann sheets as we approach the SU(3)\(_F\) symmetric limit. We find that the poles usually associated with the physical resonances do not become degenerate. Instead, degeneracy is observed for poles located on the Riemann sheet reached by crossing continuously all branch cuts that coalesce in the symmetric limit. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2026 authors