Form factors of heavy-light systems in point-form relativistic quantum mechanics: the Isgur-Wise function

We investigate electromagnetic and weak form factors of heavy-light mesons in the context of point-form relativistic quantum mechanics. To this aim we treat the physical processes from which such electroweak form factors are extracted by means of a coupled channel approach which accounts for the dynamics of the intermediate gauge bosons. It is shown that heavy-quark symmetry is respected by this formulation. A simple analytical expression is obtained for the Isgur-Wise function in the heavy-quark limit. Breaking of heavy-quark symmetry due to realistic values of the heavy-quark mass are studied numerically.