Comparison of |Q|=1 and |Q|=2 gauge-field configurations on the lattice four-torus

It is known that exactly self-dual gauge-field configurations with topological charge |Q|=1 cannot exist on the untwisted continuum four-torus. We explore the manifestation of this remarkable fact on the lattice four-torus for SU(3) using advanced techniques for controlling lattice discretization errors, extending earlier work of De Forcrand et al. for SU(2). We identify three distinct signals for the instability of |Q|=1 configurations, and show that these signals manifest themselves early in the cooling process, long before the would-be instanton has shrunk to a size comparable to the lattice discretization threshold. These signals do not appear for the individual instantons which make up our |Q|=2 configurations. This indicates that these signals reflect the truly global nature of the instability, rather than the local discretization effects which cause the eventual disappearance of the would-be single instanton. Monte-Carlo generated SU(3) gauge-field configurations are cooled to the self-dual limit using an -improved gauge action chosen to have small but positive errors. This choice prevents lattice discretization errors from destroying instantons provided their size exceeds the dislocation threshold of the cooling algorithm. Lattice discretization errors are evaluated by comparing the -improved gauge-field action with an -improved action constructed from the square of an -improved lattice field-strength tensor, thus having different discretization errors. The number of action-density peaks, the instanton size, and the topological charge of configurations is monitored. We observe a fluctuation in the total topological charge of |Q|=1 configurations, and demonstrate that the onset of this unusual behavior corresponds with the disappearance of multiple-peaks in the action density. At the same time discretization errors are minimal.     

Magnetic monopoles in the high temperature phase of Yang–Mills theories

We investigate the properties of thermal Abelian magnetic monopoles in the high temperature phase of Yang–Mills theories, following a recent proposal for their identification on lattice configurations. The study is done for SU(2) pure gauge theory, for temperatures going up to about 10 times the deconfining temperature and using the Maximal Abelian gauge to perform the Abelian projection. We find that the monopole density has a well defined continuum limit. Its temperature dependence disagrees with a free particle gas prediction and is instead well described by a T³/(log(T/Λ)) behaviour in all the explored range, with 2 and Λ100 MeV. Also the study of spatial correlations of thermal monopoles shows the presence of non-trivial interactions among them. Finally, we discuss the gauge dependence of our results, showing that it is significant and that, even within the Maximal Abelian gauge, Gribov copy effects are important.     

Quantum mechanics of Klein-Gordon fields I: Hilbert Space, localized states, and chiral symmetry

We derive an explicit manifestly covariant expression for the most general positive-definite and Lorentz-invariant inner product on the space of solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation. This expression involves a one-parameter family of conserved current densities , with a ∈ (−1, 1), that are analogous to the chiral current density for spin half fields. The conservation of is related to a global gauge symmetry of the Klein-Gordon fields whose gauge group is U (1) for rational a and the multiplicative group of positive real numbers for irrational a. We show that the associated gauge symmetry is responsible for the conservation of the total probability of the localization of the field in space. This provides a simple resolution of the paradoxical situation resulting from the fact that the probability current density for free scalar fields is neither covariant nor conserved. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of our approach for free real scalar fields offering a direct proof of the uniqueness of the relativistically invariant positive-definite inner product on the space of real Klein-Gordon fields. We also explore an extension of our results to scalar fields minimally coupled to an electromagnetic field.     

First-principles study on the formation energies of intrinsic defects in LiNbO3

First-principles plane-wave ultrasoft pseudopotential method within local density approach (LDA) has been used to study three possible vacancy-defect models for non-stoichiometric lithium niobate (LiNbO₃): (1) the oxygen-vacancy model , (2) the niobium-vacancy model , and (3) the lithium-vacancy model . The corresponding formation energies are obtained via energy minimization of a supercell. In Nb-rich environment, the calculated defect formation energies, both under oxidation and reduction conditions, show little effect on the intrinsic defect structures. We find that the lithium vacancy model has the most stable configuration in the non-stoichiometric lithium niobate crystals. Our calculations also show that the formation of any type of neutral defects and Frenkel pairs in a Nb-rich environment is difficult.     

Haldane's instanton in 2D Heisenberg model revisited: Along the avenue of topology

Deconfined quantum phase transition from Néel phase to valence bond crystal state in 2D Heisenberg model is under debate nowadays. One crucial issue is the suppression of Haldane's instanton on quantum critical point which drives the spinon deconfined. In this Letter, by making use of the ?-mapping topological current theory, we reexamine the Haldane's instanton in an alternative way along the direction of topology. We find that the monopole events are space-time singularities of Néel field , the corresponding topological charges are the wrapping number of around the singularities which can be expressed in terms of the Hopf indices and Brouwer degrees of ?-mapping. The suppression of the monopole events can only be guaranteed when the ?-field possesses no zero points. Moreover, the quadrapolarity of monopole events in the Heisenberg model due to the Berry phase is also reproduced in this topological argument.     

Highly improved lattice field-strength tensor

We derive an -improved lattice version of the continuum field-strength tensor. Discretization errors are reduced via the combination of several clover terms of various sizes, complemented by tadpole improvement. The resulting improved field-strength tensor is used to construct -improved topological charge and action operators. As a test of our improved field-strength tensor, we compare the values attained by these operators as we cool several configurations to self-duality with a previously defined highly improved action and assess the relative scale of the remaining discretization errors. We demonstrate accuracy to better than one part in 10,000.     

Isotropization times in non-Abelian gauge theory

We consider non-perturbative estimates of isotropization times for gauge theory on a lattice, relevant for the discussion of thermalization in collisions of heavy nuclei.     

On the formulation of D = 11 supergravity and the composite nature of its three-form gauge field

The underlying gauge group structure of the D = 11 Cremmer-Julia-Scherk supergravity becomes manifest when its three-form field A₃ is expressed through a set of one-form gauge fields, , , η_1α, and E^a, ψ^α. These are associated with the generators of the elements of a family of enlarged supersymmetry algebras parametrized by a real number s. We study in detail the composite structure of A₃ extending previous results by D’Auria and Fré, stress the equivalence of the above problem to the trivialization of a standard supersymmetry algebra E^(11|32) cohomology four-cocycle on the enlarged superalgebras, and discuss its possible dynamical consequences. To this aim we consider the properties of the first order supergravity action with a composite A₃ field and find the set of extra gauge symmetries that guarantee that the field theoretical degrees of freedom of the theory remain the same as with a fundamental A₃. The extra gauge symmetries are also present in the so-called rheonomic treatment of the first order D = 11 supergravity action when A₃ is composite. Our considerations on the composite structure of A₃ provide one more application of the idea that there exists an extended superspace coordinates/fields correspondence. They also suggest that there is a possible embedding of D = 11 supergravity into a theory defined on the enlarged superspace .     

Spin in the worldline path integral in 2 + 1 dimensions

We present a constructive derivation of a worldline path integral for the effective action and the propagator of a Dirac field in 2 + 1 dimensions, in terms of spacetime and SU(2) paths. After studying some general properties of this representation, we show that the auxiliary gauge-group variable can be integrated, deriving a worldline action depending only on x(τ), the spacetime paths. We then show that the functional integral automatically imposes the constraint , while there is a spin action, which agrees with the one one should expect for a spin- field.     

Polyakov effective action from functional renormalization group equation

We discuss the Polyakov effective action for a minimally coupled scalar field on a two dimensional curved space by considering a non-local covariant truncation of the effective average action. We derive the flow equation for the form factor in , and we show how the standard result is obtained when we integrate the flow from the ultraviolet to the infrared.