Extraction of spectral densities from lattice correlators

Hadronic spectral densities are important quantities whose nonperturbative knowledge allows for calculating phenomenologically relevant observables, such as inclusive hadronic cross sections and nonleptonic decay rates. The extraction of spectral densities from lattice correlators is a notoriously difficult problem because lattice simulations are performed in Euclidean time and lattice data are unavoidably affected by statistical and systematic uncertainties. In this paper we present a new method for extracting hadronic spectral densities from lattice correlators. The method allows for choosing a smearing function at the beginning of the procedure and it provides results for the spectral densities smeared with this function together with reliable estimates of the associated uncertainties. The same smearing function can be used in the analysis of correlators obtained on different volumes, such that the infinite-volume limit can be studied in a consistent way. While the method is described by using the language of lattice simulations, in reality it is completely general and can profitably be used to cope with inverse problems arising in different fields of research.