Variational method in hamiltonian lattice gauge theories

A general expression for the expectation value of the hamiltonian of a d + 1 dimensional lattice gauge theory as a function of the norm of the variational state (that itself has the form of a partition function of a d-dimensional lattice gauge theory) is given. Applications include U(1), SU(2), U(2) and U(N) gauge theories for large N in d = 2 + 1 dimensions. It is also demonstrated that the deconfining phase transition is of first order in every dimension above the critical one, provided it is of first or second order at the critical dimension.     

Progress in lattice gauge theory

Two topics of lattice gauge theory are reviewed. They include string tension and β-function calculations by strong coupling Hamiltonian methods for SU(3) gauge fields in 3 + 1 dimensions, and a 1/N-expansion for discrete gauge and spin systems in all dimensions. The SU(3) calculations give solid evidence for the coexistence of quark confinement and asymptotic freedom in the renormalized continuum limit of the lattice theory. The crossover between weak and strong coupling behavior in the theory is seen to be a weak coupling but non-perturbative effect. Quantitative relationships between perturbative and non-perturbative renormalization schemes are obtained for the O(N) nonlinear sigma models in 1 + 1 dimensions as well as the range theory in 3 + 1 dimensions. Analysis of the strong coupling expansion of the β-function for gauge fields suggests that it has cuts in the complex 1/g²-plane. A toy model of such a cut structure which naturally explains the abruptness of the theory's crossover from weak to strong coupling is presented. The relation of these cuts to other approaches to gauge field dynamics is discussed briefly.The dynamics underlying first order phase transitions in a wide class of lattice gauge theories is exposed by considering a class of models-P(N) gauge theories - which are soluble in the N → ∞ limit and have non-trivial phase diagrams. The first order character of the phase transitions in Potts spin systems for N #62; 4 in 1 + 1 dimensions is explained in simple terms which generalizes to P(N) gauge systems in higher dimensions. The phase diagram of Ising lattice gauge theory coupled to matter fields is obtained in a $\text{1}\text{N}$ expansion. A one-plaquette model (1 time-0 space dimensions) with a first-order phase transitions in the N → ∞ limit is discussed.     

Small coupling (low temperature) expansions of nonabelian Yang-Mills fields on a lattice in temporal gauge

A systematic approach to large β expansions of nonabelian lattice gauge theories in temporal gauge is developed. The gauge fields are parameterized by a particular set of coordinates. The main problem is to define a regularization scheme for the infrared singularity that in this gauge appears in the Green's function in the infinite lattice limit. Comparison with exactly solvable two-dimensional models proves that regularization by subtraction of a naive translation invariant Green's function does not work. It suggests to use a Green's function of a half-space lattice first, to place the local observable in this lattice, and to let its distance from the lattice boundary tend to infinity at the end. This program is applied to the Wilson loop correlation function for the gauge group SU(2) which is calculated to second order in $\text{1}\text{β}$.     

Methods in hamiltonian lattice field theory (II). Linked-cluster expansions

The linked cluster series expansion proposed by Nickel is extended to the ground state and axial string tension of lattice gauge theory. Proofs of these expansions and applications to Z₂ and U(1) gauge theory in 2 + 1 dimensions are presented. We also propose a new finite cluster scaling method based on the linked-cluster expansion and test it against known results for Z₂ gauge theory. The utility of the method in studying more complicated lattice gauge theories is emphasized.     

Strong coupling expansions for the mass gap in lattice gauge theories

We derive strong coupling expansions for the mass gap in euclidean lattice gauge theories in any space-time dimension. For gauge groups SU(2), SU(3), Z₂ and Z₃ the series are calculated up to order g^?16. They are used to get rough estimates for the lowest glueball mass in continuum SU(2) and SU(3) gauge theories, assuming a sudden crossover from strong to weak coupling behaviour in the lattice theory.     

Spectrum of lattice gauge theories with fermions from a 1/d expansion at strong coupling

We study the strong coupling limit of U(N) or SU(N) gauge theories with fermions on a lattice. The integration over the gauge and fermion degrees of freedom is performed by analytic methods, leading to a partition function in terms of localized meson and baryon fields. A method for deriving a systematic expansion in the inverse of the space-time dimension of the corresponding Green functions is developed. It is applied to the study of spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry, which occurs for any U(N) or SU(N) theory with fermions in the fundamental representation. Meson and baryon spectra are then computed, and found to be in close agreement with those obtained by numerical methods at finite coupling. The pion decay constant is estimated.     

The size of finite size effects in lattice gauge theories

If a quantum field is enclosed in a spatial box of finite volume, its mass spectrum depends on the box size L. For field theories in the continuum Lüscher has shown to all orders in perturbation theory that for large L this dependence is related to certain scattering amplitudes of the infinite volume theory. We derived the corresponding relations for lattice field theories. Assuming their validity for lattice gauge theory outside the perturbative region the magnitude of finite size effects on the spectrum is determined by a glueball coupling constant. This quantity is estimated by strong coupling methods.     

The relation between the waveguide and overlap implementations of Kaplan's domain wall fermions

Recently, Narayanan and Neuberger proposed that the fermion determinant for a lattice chiral gauge theory be defined by an overlap formula. The motivation for that formula comes from Kaplan's five-dimensional lattice domain wall fermions. In the case that the target continuum theory contains 4n chiral families, we show that the effective action defined by overlap formula is identical to the effective action of a modified waveguide model that has extra bosonic ghost fields. This raises serious questions about the viability of the overlap formula for defining chiral gauge theories on the lattice.     

Large-N lattice models with mixed actions

U(N) lattice gauge theories and spin systems with mixed fundamental and adjoint representation actions are studied. Exact results are found for two-dimensional gauge theories and one-dimensional spin chains. Phase diagrams for higher-dimensional systems are found using mean field theory. Various implications of this work are discussed.     

Chemical potentials in gauge theories

One-loop calculations of the thermodynamic potential Ω are presented for temperature gauge and non-gauge theories. Prototypical formulae are derived which give Ω as a function of both (i) boson and/or fermion chemical potential, and in the case of gauge theories (ii) the thermal vacuum parameter A₀=const (A_μ is the euclidean gauge potential). From these basic abelian gauge theory formulae, the one-loop contribution to Ω can readily be constructed for Yang-Mills theories, and also for non-gauge theories.     

Gauge theories on a small lattice

We present exact solutions to U(1), SU(2), and SU(3) lattice gauge theories on a Kogut-Susskind lattice consisting of a single plaquette. We demonstrate precise equivalence between the U(1) theory and the harmonic oscillator on an infinite one-dimensional lattice, and between the SU(N) theory and anN-fermion Schrödinger equation.     

Phase structure of QCD at high temperature with massive quarks and finite quark density: A Z(3) paradigm

The confinement/deconfinement phase transition in SU(3) lattice gauge theories at high temperatures is analogous to that of the Z(3) gauge theories. We study various Z(3) gauge-matter theories that result from replacing the gauge group SU(3) with its center Z(3). We include large-mass fermions in the Wilson formulation and allow a chemical potential. We show that in the limit of strong coupling and high temperature the (3 + 1)-dimensional theory becomes a three state, three-dimensional Potts model with uniform external fields of real and imaginary strengths related to the fermion mass and chemical potential. By studying the phase structure of the q = 3, d = 3 Potts model with external fields we argue that the confinement/deconfinement phase transition is first order, but highly sensitive to external fields, and that it does not occur at “strong coupling” in a Z(3) gauge theory if there is a light enough fermion present. We discuss the consequences of this result for QCD.     

Universal properties of U(1) gauge theories

The previously known analogies between four-dimensional compact U(1) lattice gauge theories and the two-dimensional planar model are extended to a number of other results. We show that the monopoles in the gauge theory renormalize the coupling constant α by an amount proportional to the susceptibility of the monopole gas. Confinement occurs when this susceptibility diverges. We argue that α is analogous to the critical exponent η of the planar model, and that the transition occurs at a universal critical value α_c.We also define an analogue of the superfluid density for the gauge theory, in terms of the dependence of the free energy on the boundary conditions, and show that it is universally related to α. Finally, we show that the same physics emerges from a continuum U(1) theory with real magnetic monopoles.     

Inequalities for magnetic-flux free energies and confinement in lattice gauge theories

Rigorous inequalities among magnetic-flux free energies of tori with varying diameters are derived in lattice gauge theories. From the inequalities, it follows that if the magnetic-flux free energy vanishes in the limit of large uniform dilatation of a torus, the free energy must always decrease exponentially with the area of the cross section of the torus. The latter property is known to be sufficient for permanent confinement of static quarks. As a consequence of this property, a lower bound V(R) ? const · R for the static quark-antiquark potential is obtained in three-dimensional U(N) lattice gauge theory for sufficiently large R.     

How to do mean field theory in Feynman gauge and doing it for U(1) with corrections to fourth order

It is demonstrated how mean field theory with corrections from fluctuations may be applied to lattice gauge theories in covariant gauges. By fixing the gauge at tree level the importance of fluctuations is decreased. This is understood as inclusion of terms of next-to-leading-order in d in the definition is the mean field tree approximation, d being the dimension of the lattice. The gauge group U(1) and Wilson's action are used as testing ground. Tree and one-loop results comparable to those previously obtained in axial gauge are obtained for d = 4. The next three correction terms to the free and plaquette energies are evaluated in Feynman gauge. The truncated asymptotic series thus obtained is compared to that of the ordinary weak coupling expansion. The mean field series gives, to those orders studied, a much better approximation. The location of phase transitions in 4d and 5d are predicted with 1% error bars.     

Variational study of vacuum structure with fermions ind+1 dimensional Hamiltonian lattice gauge theory

The physical vacuum state and general expression for the Hamiltonian ofd+1 dimensional lattice gauge theory are given by incorporating the exact ground state of pure gauge theory and the variational fermion vacuum state. The applications toSU(2) andSU(3) gauge theories in 2+1 and 3+1 dimensions are demonstrated and the fermion condensates \(\left\langle {\bar \psi \psi } \right\rangle \) as functions of 1/g ² are calculated.     

Optimization in the extended variational approach: TheSU(2)-SO(3) phase structure on the lattice

We use the linear delta expansion with a trial action based on single links to explore the phase structure of the mixedSU(2)-SO(3) lattice gauge theory. The method can be regarded as a systematic expansion going beyond mean field theory or the variational method, to which it is closely related in first order. AtO(δ ²) the line of first-order phase transitions is shown to terminate, and atO(δ ³) the boundaries between the different phases are well reproduced.     

Abelian lattice gauge theories in 3 + 1 dimensions: The linked cluster approach

We use the linked cluster expansion methods of Nickel to derive strong couping series for Z_N abelian gauge theories. These new results together with corresponding estimates using the exact linked cluster expansion algorithm are analysed and compared with previously obtained results for U(1) lattice gauge theory in 3 + 1 dimensions. We confirm the phase structure of these theories as found by other techniques. The critical value of N at which the phase structure of Z_N alters is estimated to be N_C = 4.5 ± 0.2. In each case the string tension estimates using the ELCE algorithm are found to be stable in the presence of a roughening transition.     

ZN Gauge theories on a lattice and quantum memory

In the present paper we shall study (2+1)-dimensional Z_N gauge theories on a lattice. It is shown that the gauge theories have two phases, one is a Higgs phase and the other is a confinement phase. We investigate low-energy excitation modes in the Higgs phase and clarify relationship between the Z_N gauge theories and Kitaev’s model for quantum memory and quantum computations. Then we study effects of random gauge couplings (RGC) which are identified with noise and errors in quantum computations by Kitaev’s model. By using a duality transformation, it is shown that time-independent RGC give no significant effects on the phase structure and the stability of quantum memory and computations. Then by using the replica methods, we study Z_N gauge theories with time-dependent RGC and show that nontrivial phase transitions occur by the RGC.