Asymptotic freedom, light quarks and the origin of the ΔT = 1 2 rule in the non-leptonic decays of strange particles

A dynamical mechanism for the ΔT = 1 2 rule in the non-leptonic decays of strange particles is considered. The weak interactions are described within the Weinberg-Salam model while the strong interactions are assumed to be mediated by the exchange of an octet of colour vector gluons. It is shown that the effect of the strong interactions gives rise to new operators in the effective Hamiltonian of weak interactions which contain both left- and right-handed fermions. These operators satisfy the ΔT = 1 2 rule, and estimates within the relativistic quark model indicate that their contribution dominates the physical amplitudes of the K → 2π, 3π decays.