Scalar Meson Decay Constants and the Nature of the a₀(980)

The a_0(980), a_0(1450) and K_0(1430) decay constants are determined using a form of QCD sum rules known to produce a very accurate determination of the rho decay constant. The ratio of a_0(980) to K_0(1430) decay constants is shown to be ~0.6, ruling out both the ``loosely-bound-K\bar{K}-molecule'' and Gribov minion scenarios for the a_0(980). Solutions for the isovector scalar spectral function obtained in the literature from sum rule analyses employing a more restrictive single-resonance-plus-continuum form of the input spectral ansatz, are also investigated. These solutions, which suggest, in contrast to the present results, negligible coupling of the a_0(980) to the isovector scalar density are shown to produce a poor quality match between the OPE and hadronic sides of the sum rules employed here, and hence to be strongly disfavored relative to the present solution.