Scattering of unstable particles in a finite volume: The case of πρ scattering and the a1(1260) resonance

We present a way to evaluate the scattering of unstable particles quantized in a finite volume with the aim of extracting physical observables for infinite volume from lattice data. We illustrate the method with the pi rho scattering which generates dynamically the axial-vector a(1)(1260) resonance. Energy levels in a finite box are evaluated both considering the rho as a stable and unstable resonance and we find significant differences between both cases. We discuss how to solve the problem to get the physical scattering amplitudes in the infinite volume, and hence phase shifts, from possible lattice results on energy levels quantized inside a finite box.