τ→πππντ decays and the a1(1260) off-shell width revisited

The τ→πππντ decay is driven by the hadronization of the axial-vector current. Within the resonance chiral theory, and considering the large-NC expansion, this process has been studied in Ref. (D. Gomez Dumm, A. Pich, J. Portoles, 2004). In the light of later developments we revise here this previous work by including a new off-shell width for the lightest a1 resonance that provides a good description of the τ→πππντ spectrum and branching ratio. We also consider the role of the ρ(1450) resonance in these observables. Thus we bring in an overall description of the τ→πππντ process in excellent agreement with our present experimental knowledge.