Simplicial gauge theory and quantum gauge theory simulation

We propose a general formulation of simplicial lattice gauge theory inspired by the finite element method. Numerical tests of convergence towards continuum results are performed for several SU(2) gauge fields. Additionally, we perform simplicial Monte Carlo quantum gauge field simulations involving measurements of the action as well as differently sized Wilson loops as functions of β.     

Mean field calculations and defect gases in lattice gauge theory

We investigate the relationship between local defects and the mean field method in lattice gauge theory. In particular we clarify the role of defects in establishing the equivalence between mean field calculations with and without gauge fixing. In two dimensions we derive the area law for the Wilson loop by a mean field calculation incorporating defects. We also establish a general rule about mean field variables which are appropriate to handle defects induced by an action that almost possesses a local symmetry group, and we apply it to theZ(2) Higgs model and to the mixedSU(2)-SO(3) model.     

Adjoint sources in lattice gauge theory

Variance reduction techniques for the evaluation of Wilson loops in lattice gauge theory are analysed. The method is extended to Wilson loops in the adjoint representation. Variational methods are also applied to adjoint sources. The combination of these techniques allows the potential V(R) between two static adjoint sources to be determined in SU(2) gauge theory. One isolated static adjoint source is also studied and the energy and distribution of the gluon field of this “glue-lump” is obtained. This is relevant to the saturation of the adjoint potential V(R) at large R.     

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.     

Density ofZ(3) flux loops inSU(3) lattice gauge theory in four dimensions

A mixed actionSU(3)-SU(3)/Z(3) gauge theory is simulated by Monte Carlo methods on a 4⁴ lattice. The density ofZ(3) flux loops is measured.     

Holographic description of large N gauge theory

Based on the earlier work [S.-S. Lee, Nucl. Rev. B 832 (2010) 567], we derive a holographic dual for the D-dimensional U(N) lattice gauge theory from a first principle construction. The resulting theory is a lattice field theory of closed loops, dubbed as lattice loop field theory which is defined on a (D+1)-dimensional space. The lattice loop field theory is well defined non-perturbatively, and it becomes weakly coupled and local in the large N limit with a large ?t Hooft coupling.     

Scaling and string tension in pureSU(2) lattice gauge theory

Wilson loops inSU(2) lattice gauge theory without fermions are determined on lattices of size 12⁴, 16⁴ and 24⁴ at β=2.4, 2.5 and 2.6. At β=2.6 the static quark-antiquark potential is extracted for distances up to 8 lattice units. A string tension smaller by a factor 2 than in previous investigations is found. Deviations from asymptotic scaling for multiplicatively improved Creutz ratios are certain, and their magnitude depends on the geometrical size of the ratios. This implies deviations from scaling.     

Boundaries forSU(3) c xU(1)el lattice gauge theory with a chemical potential

It is shown forSU(N) andU(1) gauge groups that periodic spatial boundary conditions, as commonly used in lattice simulations, are not possible in the charged sectors of a local gauge theory. For charge-conjugate (C-)periodic boundary conditions the effective gauge action of fermions is derived. For nonzero chemical potential, the breakdown of translational invariance induced by the breakdown ofC symmetry is discussed. If translational invariance is abandoned, (anti)periodic spatial b.c. for fermions and for theSU(3) gauge field andC-periodic b.c. for theU(1) gauge field can be used.     

Comparison of lattice gauge theories with gauge groups Z2 and SU(2)

We study a model of a pure Yang Mills theory with gauge group SU(2) on a lattice in Euclidean space. We compare it with the model obtained by restricting variables to $\text{Z}$₂. An inequality relating expectation values of the Wilson loop integral in the two theories is established. It shows that confinement of static quarks is true in our SU(2) model whenever it holds for the corresponding $\text{Z}$₂-model. The SU(2) model is shown to have high and low temperature phases that are distinguished by a qualitatively different behavior of the 't Hooft disorder parameter.     

U(2) four-dimensional simplicial lattice gauge theory

Monte Carlo simulations for pureU (2) gauge theory on a four-dimensional simplicial lattice with six sites in each direction are reported. Wilson loops and the string tensions for squares and triangles are presented. A first-order phase transition, similar to that found for the hypercubical lattice, is observed and found to confineSU (2) colour and deconfineU (1) charge.     

Monte Carlo simulation of SU(2) gauge theory with fermions on a four-dimensional lattice

After integration over the fermions in an SU(2) lattice gauge theory, the effective fermionic action may be expressed as a sum over all possible closed gauge field loops with corresponding weight factors. We approximate this sum and perform a Monte Carlo simulation of a coupled fermion-gauge system on a 4⁴ lattice. We compare our results for 〈S_eff〉 and $\text{〈}\text{ψ}\text{ψ〉}$ for different values of the gauge field coupling β and fermion coupling κ with the free fermion theory on a lattice. 〈S_eff〉 turns out to be quite small for $\text{κ?}\text{1}\text{8}$.     

Guided random walks for solving Hamiltonian lattice gauge theories

Motivated by developments for many-particle quantum systems, a Monte Carlo method for solving Hamiltonian lattice gauge theories without fermions is presented in which a stochastic random walk is guided by a trial wave function. To the extent that a substantial portion of the local structure of the theory can be incorporated in the trial function, the method offers significant advantages relative to existing techniques. The method is applicable to the study of SU(N) lattice gauge theories, and its utility is demonstrated by solving the compact U(1) gauge theory in three spatial dimensions.     

U(3) four-dimensional lattice gauge theory and Monte Carlo calculations

Monte Carlo results for the pure U(3) lattice gauge theory on a 6⁴ lattice are reported. Wilson loops and the string tension are presented. The first-order phase transition in U(3) is reflected quite clearly in a discontinuity in the string tension at β = β_c. The U(1) factor of U(3) is extracted using the determinant of the Wilson loops. As expected, the U(1) component appears to deconfine at the phase transition..     

U(1) gauge theory on a torus

U(1) gauge theory with the Villain action on a cubic lattice approximation of three- and four-dimensional torus is considered. As the lattice spacing approaches zero, provided the coupling constant correspondingly approaches zero, the naturally chosen correlation functions converge to the correlation functions of theR-gauge electrodynamics on three- and four-dimensional torus. When the torus radius tends to infinity these correlation functions converge to the correlation functions of theR-gauge Euclidean electrodynamics.Supported by the Russian Foundation of Fundamental Researches under Grant 93-011-147     

A connection between ν-dimensional Yang-Mills theory and (ν−1)-dimensional,non-linear σ-models

We study non-linear σ-models and Yang-Mills theory. Yang-Mills theory on the ν-dimensional lattice ? ^v can be obtained as an integral of a product over all values of one coordinate of non-linear σ-models on ? ^v?1 in random external gauge fields. This exhibits two possible mechanisms for confinement of static quarks one of which is that clustering of certain two-point functions of those σ-models implies confinement of static quarks in the corresponding Yang-Mills theory. Clustering is proven for all one-dimensional σ-models, for theU(n) ×U(n) σ-models,n=1, 2, 3, ..., in two dimensions, and for the SU(2) × SU(2) σ-models for a large range of couplingsg ² ? O(ν). Arguments pertinent to the construction of the continuum limit are discussed. A representation of the expectation of Wilson loops in terms of expectations of random surfaces bounded by the loops is derived when the gauge group is SU(2),U(n) or O(n),n=1, 2, 3, ..., and connections to the theory of dual strings are sketched.     

Alternative scaling hypothesis forSU(2) andSU(3) lattice gauge theories

High precision data from a variety of sources forSU(2) andSU(3) Wilson action lattice gauge theory are analyzed with respect to the hypothesis of the possible existence of a zero temperature deconfining phase transition, in analogy with theU(1) theory. The internal energy, specific heat, string tension, and Wilson line, fit well to correlation length scaling laws associated with a finite order transition occurring at the weak coupling end of the crossover region for both theories. TheSU(2) theory is consistent with a correlation length exponent ν=2/3 and critical pointβ _c ≈2.47. ForSU(3) the data fit well to ν=1 andβ _c ≈6.69. Additional indirect evidence for the existence of such phase transitions is discussed, as is the possible crucial role of light dynamical fermions in the confinement mechanism.     

The gauge boson sector ofU(1) lattice theories

We examine theU(1) Hamiltonian lattice gauge theory in (2+1) and (3+1) dimensions. We set up a differential eigenvalue equation for the energy levels of the system, valid for all values of the coupling parameter. We show how the standard strong coupling results are retrieved, and also present a weak coupling solution which exhibits (unconfined) transverse photons as the phonons of the lattice. The lattice approach is thus seen to be appropriate for non-confining as well as for confining systems.     

Generalised actions for lattice gauge models

We consider simple modifications of the conventional Wilson action for lattice gauge theory. An SU(2) action is defined on “plaquettes” of 2×1 links. It is found to possess phase transitions in three- and four-dimensional realisations of the model. A similar model with gauge group Z(2) is also studied, and found to have two phases in three and four dimensions. We discuss the phase structure of Z(N) gauge models in four dimensions with several coupling constants and present phase diagrams for Z(4), Z(5) and Z(6).     

Higher gauge theory and a non-Abelian generalization of 2-form electrodynamics

In conventional gauge theory, a charged point particle is described by a representation of the gauge group. If we propagate the particle along some path, the parallel transport of the gauge connection acts on this representation. The Lagrangian density of the gauge field depends on the curvature of the connection which can be calculated from the holonomy around (infinitesimal) loops. For Abelian symmetry groups, say G=U(1), there exists a generalization, known as p-form electrodynamics, in which (p−1)-dimensional charged objects can be propagated along p-surfaces and in which the Lagrangian depends on a generalized curvature associated with (infinitesimal) closed p-surfaces. In this article, we use Lie 2-groups and ideas from higher category theory in order to formulate a discrete gauge theory which generalizes these models at the level p=2 to possibly non-Abelian symmetry groups. An important feature of our model is that it involves both parallel transports along paths and generalized transports along surfaces with a non-trivial interplay of these two types of variables. Our main result is the geometric picture, namely the assignment of non-Abelian quantities to geometrical objects in a coordinate free way. We construct the precise assignment of variables to the curves and surfaces, the generalized local symmetries and gauge invariant actions and we clarify which structures can be non-Abelian and which others are always Abelian. A discrete version of connections on non-Abelian gerbes is a special case of our construction. Even though the motivation sketched so far suggests applications mainly in string theory, the model presented here is also related to spin foam models of quantum gravity and may in addition provide some insight into the role of centre monopoles and vortices in lattice QCD.     

SU (2) lattice gauge theory and Monte Carlo calculations

Monte Carlo results for theSU (2) lattice gauge theory in four dimensions are presented. The string tension is measured with high statistics and also the mass of the perimeter term is determined. Wilson loop-plaquette correlations, which are related to roughening, are measured.