Continuum QCD2 from a fixed-point lattice action

Gauge invariant expectation values for lattice gauge theory with a general local action in two dimensions may be expressed as functions of the single plaquette averages. The value of these averages at the fixed point of the renormalization group can be determined exactly, and the corresponding lattice theory is shown to reproduce the continuum results. The limit N_e = ∞ is investigated in detail, and fixed point values for all the averages are explicitly determined. Wilson's action results agree only to first order in weak coupling.     

Renormalization of lattice Feynman integrals with massless propagators

A renormalization procedure is proposed which applies to lattice Feynman integrals containing zero-mass propagators and is analogous to the BPHZL renormalization procedure for continuum Feynman integrals. The renormalized diagrams are infrared convergent for non-exceptional external momenta, if the vertices of the theory satisfy a general infrared constraint. Under the same conditions as in the massive case [4], the continuum limit of the renormalized theory exists and is independent of the details of the lattice action.     

Monte Carlo simulation of non-compact QCD with stochastic gauge fixing

A non-compact lattice model of quantum chromodynamics is studied numerically. Whereas in Wilson's lattice theory the basic variables are the elements of a compact Lie group, the present lattice model resembles the continuum theory in that the basic variables A are elements of the corresponding Lie algebra, a non-compact space. The lattice gauge invariance of Wilson's theory is lost. As in the continuum, the action is a quartic polynomial in A, and a stochastic gauge fixing mechanism - which is covariant in the continuum and avoids Faddeev-Popov ghosts and the Gribov ambiguity — is also transcribed to the lattice. It is shown that the model is self-compactifying, in the sense that the probability distribution is concentrated around a compact region of the hyperplane div A = 0 which is bounded by the Gribov horizon. The model is simulated numerically by a Monte Carlo method based on the random walk process. Measurements of Wilson loops, Polyakov loops and correlations of Polyakov loops are reported and analyzed. No evidence of confinement is found for the values of the parameters studied, even in the strong coupling regime.     

Effective actions from block diagonalization in lattice gauge theories

It is shown that the first step in Wilson's real space renormalization program for lattice gauge theories — namely the integration of internal degrees of freedom within one block — can be performed for “block-diagonalized” actions, which possess the proper continuum limit, just like the Wilson action. As a result, we obtain, on a lattice with double lattice spacing, an effective action which contains in the weak-coupling limit, in addition to the familiar plaquette terms, planar Wilson loops with six and eight links.     

Modified action glueballs

The mass of the 0⁺ glueball in 4-dimensional lattice gauge theory with a mixed SU(2)-SO(3) action is obtained via Monte Carlo. We work in a region far from the critical end point in the phase diagram, with an action partly motivated by renormalization group flows in the Migdal-Kadanoff approximation. A large-N resummation of perturbation theory is used to show that the mass gap scales as predicted by the perturbative renormalization group. Independent of this, our results show that the ratio of the glueball mass to the square root of the string tension, obtained from a previous Monte Carlo, is a renormalization group invariant.     

Universality of the continuum limit of lattice quantum theories

The lattice approximation of the naïve continuum action in quantum mechanics or in field theory is not uniquely determined. We investigate to what extent corrections to the lattice action, which vanish in the naïve continuum limit, affect the continuum limit when taking quantum fluctuations into account. In the quantum mechanical case, modifications of the lattice action may induce non-trivial corrections to the potential of the system and thereby change the structure of the theory completely. We verify this statement analytically as well as numerically by performing a Monte Carlo simulation. In the field theoretical case we argue that the lattice corrections considered do not affect the physics of the continuum limit, at least not for asymptotically free gauge field theories. In four dimensions, one might encounter finite renormalization of CP violating terms.     

Asymptotic freedom scales for any single plaquette action

We analyze with the background field method the ratio of the renormalization group scales in the continuum, Λ_cont, and on the lattice, Λ_L. We find, in contrast to an earlier background field calculation, good agreement with conventional calculations, extend the result in analytic form to any acceptable lattice action and find actions where the ratio can take any value. Comparison with available computer data is made. Qualitative agreement is found.     

External gravitational interactions in quantum field theory

We consider the renormalization of Green's functions of λφ⁴ quantum field theory in an external gravitational field specified by the metric tensor g^μν(y). Green's functions Γ^(n,3) describing the interaction of j scalar particles to arbitrary order n in the gravitational field are shown to be made finite by the standard renormalizations of the flatspace theory and a renormalization of the coefficient of the improvement term in the action functional. These results in φ⁴ theory can be extended to all renormalizable field theories.     

Approaches to a non-abelian antisymmetric tensor gauge field theory

Two distinct attempts at constructing a theory of non-abelian antisymmetric tensor gauge fields (ATGF's) are considered. First, a recently proposed geometry of abelian ATGF's is reviewed and then generalized to the non-abelian case. The resulting geometric action is non-local and is invariant under non-local gauge transformations; in the local limit the action describes free fields. Lattice actions for both the abelian and non-abelian ATGF theories are also presented. In the second approach, a lattice action for non-abelian ATGF's is constructed using a plaquette variables that carry four internal indices. The continuum limit is also a non-interacting theory.     

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 $\text{1}\text{β}$.     

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.     

The random lattice as a regularization scheme

A semi-analytic method to compute the first coefficients of the renormalization group functions on a random lattice is introduced. It is used to show that the two-dimensional O(N) nonlinear σ-model regularized on a random lattice has the correct continuum limit. A degree κ of “randomness” in the lattice is introduced and an estimate of the ratio Λ_random/Λ_regular for two rather opposite values of κ in the σ-model is also given. This ratio turns out to depend on κ.     

Renormalization group equations in lattice gauge theories

New recursion equations for renormalization group transformations of the Migdal-Kadanoff type are obtained for gauge systems including fermion variables on a d-dimensional Euclidean space-time lattice. It is shown that in the weak gauge coupling region these equations have β-functions similar to those of continuum field theories in the case of U(1), SU(2) gauge groups (QED, QCD). On the other hand in the strong-coupling limit there is an infrared attractive fixed point corresponding to a color-confining effective system in both groups. A possible entire trajectory of the non-Abelian system is briefly conjectured.     

On the triviality of λϕd4 theories and the approach to the critical point in d(−) > 4 dimensions

It is shown that one- and two-component λ|?|⁴ theories and non-linear σ-models in five or more dimensions approach free or generalized free fields in the continuum (scaling) limit, and that in four dimensions the same result holds, provided there is infinite field strength renormalization, as expected. Some critical exponents for the lattice theories in five or more dimensions are shown to be mean field. The main tools are Symanzik's polymer representation of scalar field theories and correlation inequalities.     

Pregeometric quantum lattice: A general discussion

We put forward an idea that the fundamental, i.e. pregeometric, structure of spacetime is given by an abstract set, so called abstract simplicial complex ASC. Thus, at the pregeometric level there is no (smooth) spacetime manifold. However, we argue that the structure described by an abstract simplicial complex is dynamical. This dynamics is then assumed to ensure that ASC can be realized as a lattice on a four-dimensional manifold with the simplest topologies dominating.We rewrite the pregeometric model, which is quantized using euclidean path-integral formalism, in an exact way so that as a four-dimensional manifold with the simples topologies dominating. is done by definition. The first step in bringing the continuum into the arena is to build up a lattice on a four-dimensional manifold from a given ASC. In fact, we choose a specific lattice: The Regge calculus lattice, i.e. a piecewise linear (flat) metric spacetime manifold. Secondly, we introduce a smooth (C^∞) manifold (described by a metric tensor g_μν) to approximate the Regge calculus manifold (described by a metric tensor g_μν^RC).It turns out that after integrating (and summing) out all other degrees of freedom than the metric tensor field g_μν, the resulting continuum theory is nonlocal (as would be expected). However, it is our main point to show that the nonlocality is not very severe since it is only of finite range. We argue that the points in the introduced continuum which represent lattice points have so great quantum fluctuations that they are in a high temperature phase with no long-range correlations. In other words, although the effective action for the continuum formulation is not totally local, it is effectively so because it has only finite range nonlocalities. We can prove this kind of weak locality of the effective action by means of a general high-temperature theorem. Then we claim that the resulting local (or rather almost local) model with reparametrization invariance and g_μν as a field gives essentially the ordinary Einstein's gravity theory in the long wavelength limit.     

Convex effective potential of O(N)-symmetricø4 theory for large N

We obtain an effective potential of the O(N)-symmetric ø⁴ theory for large N starting with a finite lattice system and taking the thermodynamic limit with great care. In the thermodynamic limit, it is globally real-valued and convex in both the symmetric and the broken phases. In particular, it has a flat bottom in the broken phase. Taking the continuum limit, we discuss renormalization effects to the flat bottom and exhibit the effective potential of the continuum theory in three and four dimensions. On the other hand, the effective potential is nonconvex in a finite lattice system. Our numerical study shows that the barrier height of the effective potential flattens as a linear size of the system becomes large. It decreases obeying a power law and the exponent is about −2. The result is clearly understood from the dominance of configurations with a slowly-rotating field in one direction.     

Statistical mechanics of a classical one-component coulomb gas using collective coordinates

We develop a new expansion for the logarithm of the canonical partition function ln Q for the classical one-component Coulomb gas, using collective coordinates. Our initial use of collective coordinates is similar to that of Iuknovskii 1958, and our expansion resembles that of Abe (1959). Our result for the lowest-order correction to the Debye-Huckel theory is the same as these earlier results, while our next order correction is different. From our expansion for ln Q we obtain an expansion for the grand function $\text{Ω = F ? μN = ?pV}$. The ultimate purpose of this work is to develop a new mathematical technique for obtaining thermodynamic properties of an ionized gas from quantum statistical mechanics.     

Phase transitions in quantum field theory. I. Phases of the Thirring model

In this series of papers we exhibit and analyse phase transitions in quantum field theory. In this paper we consider the Thirring model. We show that when the interaction becomes sufficiently attractive there is a transition to a vacuum that is ‘dead” in the sense there are no finite energy excitations. Nevertheless the corresponding continuum Green's functions exist. We make this demonstration precise by considering the model on a lattice and constructing the continuum limit explicitly on either side of the critical point. For this we extensively use the connection between the $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$x-y-z chain and the lattice model. We also show a new continuum theory with four fermion interactions exists in 1 + 1 dimensions. This theory corresponds to taking the continuum limit of the spin chain in absence of any external magnetic field. Its Hamiltonian differs from that of the Thirring model by addition of fermion number operator with an infinite coefficient and is not renormalizable in the conventional sense. It has more interesting critical properties and a different spectrum.