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.     

Quark confinement

Using renormalization group and field equation techniques and several smoothness assumptions, we argue the effective charge in an ultraviolet free SU(N) color gauge theory becomes infinite in the infrared limit if the number of quark flavors exceeds $\text{13N}\text{4}$.     

Flavour and superunification

We consider the possibility of a non-trivial embedding of $\text{(}\text{10}\text{+}\text{5}\text{)}\text{SU}\text{(5)}$ families of spin if$\text{1}\text{2}$ left-handed fermions in a combination of irreducible massless supermultiplets of N extended supersymmetry. We demand the whole spectrum of spin $\text{1}\text{2}$ states to be anomaly free with respect to SU(N). This turns out to be a necessary condition for the absence of anomalies at the SU(5) level. We find two classes of models, with spin $\text{1}\text{2}$ fermions in SU(N) representations associated to one- and two-column Young tableaux, respectively, in which each irreducible massless multiplet occurs at most once. These two classes of models lead to a nontrivial family generation due to supersymmetry. For N = 8 extended supersymmetry, they give at most three and five families, respectively. The first class of models is more natural in the way it excludes SU(5) exotics. The same analysis is extended to the massless multiplets that can be obtained from bilinear composite fields of the (preonic) elementary fields of N extended supergravity. We prove that the generation of families requires the repetition of massless multiplets and that ($\text{10 +}\text{5}$) SU(5) families can only be generated in pairs. General properties of multilinear composite operators of the preonic fields are given and the rôle of massive representations to classify towers of operators with definite spin is pointed out.     

A gauge invarlant approach to two-dimensional quantum chromodynamics

Quantum chromodynamics in 1 + 1 space-time is formulated in terms of gauge invariant phase operators; i.e., the Hamiltonian as well as other Poincaré generators are written in a gauge invariant hadronic language without reference to the gluon and quark fields. A systematic method for computing the $\text{1}\text{N}$ expansion is given. Both the meson and the baryon sectors are studied in this context. It is shown that no infrared divergences appear at any step of the calculations.     

On chiral realizations of confining theories

It is argued that chirality is not necessarily broken in SU(N) colour theories with a chiral flavour symmetry. In this case, massless fermion bound states contributr to anomaly equations, and loop expansions in a 1/N approach are invalid. As a hint to understanding which option is realized by the theory, we investigate it in two dimensions for very small quark masses. The light spectrum shows a rich structure not obtained in a $\text{1}\text{N}$ expansion. Light flavoured baryons and mesons indicate a partial realization of the chiral symmetry.     

Z(N) topological excitations in Yang-Mills theories: duality and confinement

We investigate the properties of Z(N) topological excitations in Wilson's lattice formulation of SU(N) Yang-Mills theories. We exhibit the Z(N) topological excitations as exact classical solutions on the lattice. After giving detailed qualitative discussions about the Z(N) excitations and their relevance to confinement, we investigate the Z(N) lattice gauge theories with the Wilson action and show that Z(2), Z(3) and Z(4) models are self-dual systems. (The self-duality of the Z(2) case has been known previously.) This property enables us to locate the critical points exactly in those systems under the assumption that the phase transition occurs at only one point in the coupling constant space. We then derive the effective action for the Z(N) topological excitations in the lattice SU(N) Yang-Mills theories in the steepest descent approximation. The critical coupling constants in the SU(N) models corresponding to the phase transition caused by the Z(N) excitations are estimated by using the information on the Z(N) models with the Wilson action. It is quite probable that the estimated value $\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>r</mtext>}}{}^2\text{/4π}{}^2\text{～}\text{1}\text{31}$ (for SU(3)) is an upper bound. This indicates that the Wilson model of the SU(3) gauge field can be effective action of the QCD gluons which exhibit permanent quark confinement and, at the same time, freedom up to the distance characterized by the energy, at least, ～1 TeV.     

A puzzling combination: Disorder × order

There are several examples indicating that the operator combination “disorder × order” creates anomalous spin and/or statistics. In 2 + 1 dimensions there is a similar anomaly related to the disorder operator carrying Z(N) topological charge believed to have an important role in quark confinement. The conventionally defined total angular momentum has an anomalous term $\text{1}\text{2}\text{σ}{}^3\text{((}\text{1}\text{√3}\text{)λ}{}^8\text{)}$ and can take the values $\text{1}\text{2}\text{(}\text{1}\text{3}\text{)}$ in the presence of “disorder × order” in 2 + 1 dimensional SU(2) (SU(#)) gauge theories. It is argued that the existence of a stable soliton solution or the introduction of Higgs fields are not important for the anomaly.     

Planar limit of the singlet spectrum for SU(N)-invariant quantum hamiltonians by the quantum collective field method

We calculate the quantum fluctuations around the classical vacuum of the quantum collective field in the case of SU(N)-invariant quantum mechanical systems. We obtain in this way the singlet spectrum up to corrections of order $\text{1}\text{N}$. Difficulties in the calculation of higher order terms in $\text{1}\text{N}$ are pointed out.     

Thermodynamical information on quark matter from the nucleon valence quark distribution

If the valence quarks in the nucleon are considered as a gas of the non-interacting massless particles, an expression of the xF₃(x) structure function is obtained which reproduces very well the experimental $\text{v(}\text{v}\text{)}$N data in the range 0.1?x?0.8. The effective temperature of such a quark gas is found to be of the order of 50 MeV.     

Yang-Baxter algebras of monodromy matrices in integrable quantum field theories

We consider a large class of two-dimensional integrable quantum field theories with non-abelian internal symmetry and classical scale invariance. We present a general procedure to determine explicitly the conserved quantum monodromy operator generating infinitely many non-local charges. The main features of our method are a factorization principle and the use of $\text{P}$, $\text{T}$, and internal symmetries. The monodromy operator is shown to satisfy a Yang-Baxter algebra, the structure constants (i.e. the quantum R-matrix) of which are determined by two-particle S-matrix of the theory. We apply the method to the chiral SU(N) and the O(2N) Gross-Neveu models.     

Nucleon-antinucleon bound states in a quark rearrangement model

The possibility of deeply-bound $\text{N}\text{N}$ states is studied in a quark rearrangement annihilation plus a meson-exchange potential model. It is shown that very narrow (Γ ～- 1–10 MeV) bound states may be possible even forL = 0 with binding energies varying up to $\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>B</mtext>}}\text{?- 800–900}\text{MeV}$ in the proposed scheme. E_B is, however, very dependent on the details of the short-range treatment of the meson-exchange part. A reasonable agreement with the present controversial data can be obtained.     

No-scale supersymmetric GUTs

We construct locally supersymmetric GUTs in which radiative corrections determine all the mass scales which are hierarchically smaller than the Planck mass: $\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{O}\text{(m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>W</mtext>}}\text{) =}\text{exp}\text{(}\text{?}\text{O}\text{(1)}\text{α}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>t</mtext>}}\text{)m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>p</mtext>}}$, etc. Such no-scale GUTs are based on a hidden sector with a flat potential guaranteed by SU(1, 1) conformal invariance. This is extended to include observable chiral fields in an SU(n, 1)/SU(n) × U(1) structure reminiscent of N ? 5 extended supergravity theories. Tree-level supersymmetry breaking is present only for the gravitino, and for the light gaugino masses through non-minimal kinetic terms reminiscent of N?4 extended supergravity theories. Radiative corrections generate squark and slepton masses which are phenomenologically acceptable, and the right value of m_W is obtained if m_t ≈ 50 GeV in the simplest such model.     

Isospin analysis of the reactions pp→N(Nπ) at 12 and 24 GeV/c

The reaction pp → nucleon + nucleon + pion at 12 and 24 GeV/c is analyzed in terms of the isospin amplitudes for the production of the (Nπ) system. The energy dependence of the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{1}\text{2}$ amplitude is weak, while the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{3}\text{2}$ contribution shows the strong energy dependence known from meson exchange reactions. The slope parameter B of the dσ/dt′ distributions of the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π)=}\text{1}\text{2}$ contribution is a strong function of the (Nπ) mass, decreasing sharply from about 12 GeV^?2 at threshold to about 4 GeV^?2 above 1700 MeV. Comparing our results for the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{1}\text{2}$ cross section with those of similar investigations in πp and Kp reactions, we find that factorisation is valid within experimental errors. The results support the conclusion that the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{1}\text{2}$ contribution is dominated by diffraction dissociation of the proton.     

Calculation of baryon masses in quantum chromodynamics

The polarization operator of quark currents with baryon quantum numbers is considered in quantum chromodynamics. The non-zero mean vacuum values of the field operator products are taken into account. The sum rules are obtained assuming that in the virtuality region ～1 GeV, among the mean vacuum values violating the chiral invariance, the most important is $\text{〈0|}\text{ψ}\text{ψ|0〉}$. Saturating these sum rules by the lowest baryonic states one is able to calculate the masses of the isobar Δ and nucleon N, M_Δ = 1.4 GeV, M_N = 1 GeV, up to 15% through the known value $\text{〈0|}\text{ψ}\text{ψ|0〉}$. The mass splitting in the baryonic decuplet $\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{\Sigma 1}}\text{?M}{}_{\mathrm{\Delta }}\text{= 125}\text{MeV}$ is calculated in first order in the current strange quark mass m_s = 150 MeV. Certain results for other baryonic resonances have also been obtained.     

Baryon wave functions and nucleon decay

We apply to nucleon decay the knowledge about the short-distance structure of baryon wave functions gleaned from QCD form factor calculations nd the $\text{J}\text{gY →}\text{p}\text{?}\text{p}$ decay rate. We review the uncertainties arising when current algebra and PCAC are used to relate $\text{N}\text{→}\text{?}\text{+}$ meson decay rates to 〈0|qqq|N〉 matrix elements. We show that the relevant matrix elements are not directly related to those of the leading twist operators “measured” in conventional high momentum transfer physics, but argue for an indirect based on models that fit both form factor and $\text{J}\text{Ψ}$ decay data. We use these inputs to calculate the p → e⁺π⁰ decay rate in minimal SU(5) and other grand unified theories (GUTs) for a specified value of the heavy vector boson mass m_X. Our results combined with the recent experimental lower limit on this mode indicate that m_X > 2 × 10¹⁵ GeV in the minimal SU(5) GUT, and we derive analogous bounds for supersymmetric GUTs. Our calculated lifetime for a given value of m_X is considerably shorter than previous estimates made using non-relativistic SU(6) or the bag model, a difference traceable to the different normalizations of 2 and 3 quark wave functions at short distances.     

Hadron masses and the sigma commutator in light of chiral perturbation theory

We analyze carefully the impact of non-analytic chiral corrections to the mass spectrum of the pseudoscalar meson octet J^P = 0^? and the baryon octet $\text{J}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>P</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{1}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$. We find that the quark mass ratios must lie in the range $\text{21 ≤}\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>s</mtext>}}\text{m}\text{?}\text{≤ 32}$ and $\text{1.6 ≤}\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>d</mtext>}}\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>u</mtext>}}\text{≤ 2.2}$. We also calculate the analogous corrections to the pion-nucleon sigma commutator σ_πN. It turns out that the value σ_πN = 60 MeV is not compatible with the structure of the meson and baryon spectrum, unless the nucleon mass is smaller than 600 MeV in the chiral limit m_u = m_d = m_s = 0.     

SU(6) × SL(3, R) color quark model

A nonrelativistic color quark model based on the spectrum generating group SU(6)×SL(3, R) is presented. The model unifies SU(6) and the Regge classification with linear L vs m² mass spectrum. Baryons are predicted to belong to the ($\text{56}\text{, L}{}^{\mathrm{P}}\text{= (}\text{even}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)}\text{and}\text{(}\text{70}\text{, L}{}^{\mathrm{P}}\text{= (}\text{odd}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{)}$ multiplets of the SU (6) × O(3) group.     

A t-channel isospin analysis of the chew-low plot for NN → N(Nπ) interactions at 5.7 GeV/c

A new approach to the t-channel isospin analysis of ZN → Z′(Nπ) reactions is presented. This approach, useful for $\text{Z = N,}\text{N}\text{, K}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ when only five independent sets of data are availables, is used to analyse data of $\text{N}\text{N →}\text{N}\text{(Nπ)}$ reactions obtained in a $\text{p}\text{p →}\text{N}\text{N}\text{π}$ experiment at $\text{5.7}\text{GeV}\text{/c}\text{and a}\text{p}\text{d →}\text{N}\text{Nπp}{}_{\mathrm{s}}$ experiment at 5.5 GeV/c. the t behaviour of the different isospin exchange amplitudes, suggests their exchange mechanism production. The mass spectrum, M_πN, of the contributions produced by exchanged isospin I_ex = 1, shows enhancements corresponding to N(1490) N(1670) and Δ(1230) isobars, while the mass spectrum for I_ex = 0 presents only a large bump at ～1350 MeV commonly identified as N¹(1400).