Two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory in the leading 1N expansion

Recent controversies about the gauge invariance of the two-dimensional SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in the 't Hooft limit of large N are resolved. The fermion (quark) propagator is found explicitly, and is qualitatively different from those in the previous literature.     

Infrared properties of the glue propagator in non-abelian gauge theories

In a pure Yang-Mills theory, the Dyson equation for the gluon propagator is studied in the infrared regime, under the assumption that, as in QED, only those parts of the proper gluon vertex functions determined by the Ward identities are relevant. The calculations are all carried out in the axial gauge. With a number of simplifying assumptions the resulting integral equation for the gluon propagator can be solved in the IR regime. The solution displays a power singularity in the IR for the renormalized coupling constant g(q²).     

The structure of Yang-Mills theories in the temporal gauge: (II). Perturbation theory

In this paper we construct the perturbative expansion for the Feynman propagation kernel of a Yang-Mills theory in the A₀ = 0 gauge in any external charge sector, by using the expression of the kernel derived in a previous paper. Unlike the usual one, in this formulation of perturbation theory there are no spurious poles at zero energy transfer in the (effective) gauge field propagator. Examples of calculations of the static potential between external (infinitely heavy) non-abelian charges and of scattering amplitudes are discussed in detail.     

Instanton Effects on Gluon Propagator

Gluon propagator is investigated for pure Yang-Mills SU(3) gauge theory in field-strength approach. It is found that instantons provide a homogeneous solid-like medium background which generates finite nonzero momentum gluon propagator and gluon receives effective mass.     

Instanton Effects on Gluon Propagator

Gluon propagator is investigated for pure Yang-Mills SU(3) gauge theory in field-strength approach. It isfound that instantohs provide a homogeneous solid-like medium background which generates finite nonzero momentumgluon propagator and gluon receives effective mass.     

Construction ofYM 4 with an infrared cutoff

We provide the basis for a rigorous construction of the Schwinger functions of the pure SU(2) Yang-Mills field theory in four dimensions (in the trivial topological sector) with a fixed infrared cutoff but no ultraviolet cutoff, in a regularized axial gauge. The construction exploits the positivity of the axial gauge at large field. For small fields, a different gauge, more suited to perturbative computations is used; this gauge and the corresponding propagator depends on large background fields of lower momenta. The crucial point is to control (in a non-perturbative way) the combined effect of the functional integrals over small field regions associated to a large background field and of the counterterms which restore the gauge invariance broken by the cutoff. We prove that this combined effect is stabilizing if we use cutoffs of a certain type in momentum space. We check the validity of the construction by showing that Slavnov identities (which express infinitesimal gauge invariance) do hold non-perturbatively.     

The parallel propagator as basic variable for Yang-Mills theory

The parallel propagator (associated with a Yang-Mills connection) taken along all null geodesics from a field point to null infinity is introduced as a basic variable in Yang-Mills theory. It is shown that the Yang-Mills connection can be reconstructed from this parallel propagator.The Yang-Mills equations are expressed as an equation for the parallel propagator. This equation can be given as a sum of two parts. The first of these, when set equal to zero on its own, satisfies the Huygens property and is soluble. When the second part is included, the Huygens property is destroyed. This leads to an approximation scheme which at first order is soluble yet already captures much of the non-linearity of Yang-Mills theory.     

Verifying the Kugo-Ojima confinement criterion in Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory

Expanding the Landau gauge gluon and ghost two-point functions in a power series we investigate their infrared behavior. The corresponding powers are constrained through the ghost Dyson-Schwinger equation by exploiting multiplicative renormalizability. Without recourse to any specific truncation we demonstrate that the infrared powers of the gluon and ghost propagators are uniquely related to each other. Constraints for these powers are derived, and the resulting infrared enhancement of the ghost propagator signals that the Kugo-Ojima confinement criterion is fulfilled in Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory.     

Flat coordinates,topological Landau-Ginzburg models and the Seiberg-Witten period integrals

We study the Picard-Fuchs differential equations for the Seiberg-Witten period integrals in N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. For A-D-E gauge groups we derive the Picard-Fuchs equations by using the flat coordinates in the A-D-E singularity theory. We then find that these are equivalent to the Gauss-Manin system for two-dimensional A-D-E topological Landau-Ginzburg models and the scaling relation for the Seiberg-Witten differential. This suggests an interesting relationship between four-dimensional N = 2 gauge theories in the Coulomb branch and two-dimensional topological field theories.     

N = 4 Yang-Mills theory in terms of N = 3 and N = 2 light-cone superfields

The N = 4 Yang-Mills theory is truncated to an N = 3 Yang-Mills theory and to an N = 2 Yang-Mills theory coupled to an N = 2 Wess-Zumino field. The whole procedure is performed in the light-cone gauge. It is then shown that these theories are unique even if we only insist on N = 3 or N = 2 supersymmetry respectively. Finally we show in detail how the introduction of the fermionic Wess-Zumino field renders the one-loop self-energy finite.     

Instanton zero modes and β-functions in gauged supergravity

We prove that one loop infinities in N?3 gauged O(N) supergravities are produced only by zero modes both on de Sitter and gauge instanton backgrounds. This strongly suggests (in analogy with the super Yang-Mills case) that instantons may be used for establishing exact β-functions in supergravities. We also derive the general formula for the number of gauge instanton zero modes for arbitrary spin and find that the “magnetic moment” part of the contribution in the gauge β-function is completely due to zero modes.     

Uniformly valid amplitude expansions for non-Abelian gauge theories

The imposition of a particular gauge condition in a non-Abelian gauge theory may lead to large-r nonuniformities in an amplitude expansion when used in the construction of an approximate solution of the field equations of the theory. We show that for both the Yang-Mills theory and general relativity it is always possible to find a class of gauge conditions that do not suffer from this defect and at the same time lead to solvable equations in each order of the approximation employed. We further show how one can construct such gauge conditions by a method similar to Lighthill's method of strained coordinates. An example of such a construction is given for the Yang-Mills theory.     

On YM2 measures and area-preserving diffeomorphisms

For a given gauge group and compact Riemannian two-manifold, it is known that the associated Yang-Mills measure can be defined directly as a finitely additive measure on the space of connections, and this finitely additive measure is invariant with respect to SDiff, the group of all area-preserving diffeomorphisms of the surface. The first question we address is whether this symmetry essentially characterizes the projection of the Yang-Mills measure to the space of gauge equivalence classes. The proper formulation of this question entails the construction of an SDiff-equivariant equivariant completion of the space of continuous connections, such that the projection of the Yang-Mills measure to the space of gauge equivalence classes has a countably additive extension. We also consider the coupling of the Yang-Mills measure to determinants of Dirac operators. The basic problems are to prove that the coupled measure is absolutely continuous with respect to the background Yang-Mills measure, to find a reasonable formula for the Radon-Nikodym derivative, and to analyze the action of SDiff.     

Infrared properties of the gauge theory coupling constant III

In previous papers we have outlined a program for deriving the infrared behavior of the axial gauge gluon propagator in a pure Yang-Mills theory. The program is based on an integral equation for the gluon propagator derived from the Dyson equation and the Ward identities. Here we present a solution to this equation, obtained numerically. The solution exhibits a Singularity in the infrared, and therefore presumably predicts confinement of color. The method is supposed to be exact in the infrared. Away from the infrared, therefore, our solution is only approximate. Nevertheless, even in the ultraviolet, our solution for the propagator is not very different from the known asymptotic freedom result, so it may be that it is a reasonable approximation over the entire range of momentum.     

N = 4 Yang-Mills theory on the light cone

The 10-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is constructed in the light-cone gauge. When the theory is dimensionally reduced to four dimensions it is shown that the corresponding N = 4 theory is conveniently described in terms of a scalar superfield. This formalism avoids the problem of auxiliary fields but is Lorentz invariant only on the mass shell. Similar formalisms in terms of scalar superfields are also sketched for the other supersymmetric Yang-Mills as well as for N = 8 supergravity.