Complex-momentum form factors from lattice QCD

We demonstrate that form factors evaluated at complex-valued momenta can be directly accessed from position-space Euclidean correlators without analytically continuing the latter and without solving an inverse problem. The approach directly applies a bilateral Laplace transform to the lattice data, which provides the analytically continued form factor wherever it converges. Focusing on the pion form factor in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), this gives access to the observable as a function of invariant $Q^2$ throughout an extended analytic domain consisting of all complex $Q^2$ with real part larger than $-4m_{\pi }^2$. This could, for example, be used to improve charge-radius determinations or provide more complete data for fits based on conformal mapping of the data. After developing the approach for infinite-volume correlators, we discuss various options for finite-volume estimators suitable for realistic calculations, including position-space fits or application of a spatial chemical potential represented by boundary conditions with an imaginary twist angle. Finally, we test the method in the two-dimensional $O(3)$ nonlinear sigma model using Monte Carlo data.