Behaviour of gluons at high temperature

The screening of colour electric and magnetic fields and plasma oscillations in a high-temperature gluon plasma are investigated using linear response theory and self-consistent nonperturbative solutions to the Schwinger-Dyson equation. Static electric fields are screened, with

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. This result is proven to be gauge invariant in two ways: by computing π₀₀ in temporal axial, Coulomb and covariant gauges, and by computing the physical free energy of a heavy quark pair in the plasma in temporal axial gauge. To order g³ static magnetic fields are not screened.     

Properties of quark matter governed by quantum chromodynamics (II). Renormalization schemes in quark matter

Renormalization schemes are examined (in the Coulomb gauge) for quantum chromodynamics in the presence of quark matter. We demand that the effective coupling constant for all schemes become congruent with the vacuum QCD running coupling constant as the matter chemical potential, μ, goes to zero. Also, to enable us to standardize with the vacuum QCD running coupling constant at some asymptotic momentum transfer, $\text{|}\text{p}{}_0\text{|,}\text{we keep}\text{μ ? ¦}\text{p}{}_0\text{¦}$, to ensure that the matter contribution is negligible at this point. This means all schemes merge with vacuum QCD at $\text{|}\text{p}{}_0\text{|}$ and beyond. Two renormalization group invariants are shown to emerge: (i) the effective or invariant charge, g_inv², which is, however, scheme dependent and (ii) g²(M)/S(M), where S(M)^?1 is the Coulomb propagator, which is scheme independent. The only scheme in which g_inv² is scheme independent and identical to g²(M)/S(M) is the screened charged scheme (previous paper) characterised by the normalization of the entire Green function, S^?1, to unity. We conclude that this is the scheme to be used if one wants to identify with the experimental effective coupling in perturbation theory. However, if we do not restrict to perturbation theory all schemes should be allowed. Although we discuss matter QCD in the Coulomb gauge, the above considerations are quite general to gauge theories in the presence of matter.     

Infrared instability of QCD at finite temperatures

The infrared behaviour of the transversal gluon propagator in QCD at T≠0 is investigated within the ghost-free axial gauge. The singularities found in this propagator for the momentum p ～ g²T remain for any choice of the gauge and indicate the infrared instability of QCD at finite temperatures.     

Linked cluster expansions for U(1) lattice gauge theory in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions

Compact U(1) lattice gauge theory is studied in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions using strong coupling series expansions and the recently proposed exact linled cluster expansion alborithm Results for the vacuum energy, specific heat and axial string tension in 2 + 1 dimensions are in agreement with previous finite lattice estimates. In 3 + 1 dimensions, we present new strong coupling series results (order g^?40) which together with the ELCE estimates show evidence of a continuous phase transition at x = 1/g⁴ = 0.72 ± 0.08. The associated critical index for the vanishing string tension is μ = 0.65 ± 0.12. The axial string tension in D = 3 + 1 appears to undergo a non-deconfining roughening transition at smaller x (0.56 ± 0.07).     

A non-perturbative calculation of the infrared limit of the axial gauge gluon propagator (I)

We describe a non-perturbative study of the infrared behavior of the axial gauge gluon propagator based on the Dyson equation and Ward identities. We conclude that the propagator Δ_μν(q) displays a q^?4 singularity in the infrared limit, and that consequently the axial gauge running coupling constant g_A²)(q) displays a q^?2 singularity in the same limit. The only assumption necessary to obtain this conclusion is that the transverse part of the triple-gluon vertex function does not dominate the longitudinal part in the infrared regime.     

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).     

SU(2) Lattice gauge theory in (2+1)D

Cluster expansion methods are applied to theSU(2) lattice gauge model in (2+1) dimensions. Strong-coupling series are calculated for the vacuum energy per site, the axial string tension, and the scalar mass gap; while ELCE approximants are used to estimate the string tension beyond its roughening transition. The simple scaling behaviour expected of this super-renormalizable theory is clearly seen, and we estimate that in the continuum limit the string tension σ～(0.14±0.01)g ⁴, while the mass gapM _s ～(2.2±0.25)g ². More accurate Monte Carlo simulations are needed to check the universality between the Hamiltonian and Euclidean versions of this model.     

Leading non-cancelling infrared divergences in perturbative QCD

In perturbative QCD, for the inclusive cross section for the scattering of two coloured particles, we identify graphs which contribute to the general leading order α_s(α_s lnλ)ⁿ of uncancelled IR divergences, and we sum these contributions (λ is the IR cut-off). The work is done in the Coulomb gauge; an appendix discusses the Feynman gauge.     

Gauge-fixing conditions and natural decompositions of Yang-Mills fields

A general method of constructing canonical decompositions of Yang-Mills fields is presented. The gauge dependence is concentrated to a minimal set of variables which parametrize the group space of the gauge group. The decompositions fall into different classes for different boundary conditions and are characterized by a specific connection to gauge-fixing conditions which are consistent with these boundary conditions. All classes connected to gauge-fixing conditions on the field strength E_aⁱ yield local decompositions generalizing a similar decomposition given by Goldstone and Jackiw for SU(2) Yang-Mills. All classes connected to gauge-fixing conditions. which also involve A_aⁱ yield non-local decompositions in space. Explicit canonical decompositions are given for those classes which are connected to the Coulomb and axial gauges as well as the gauges of the form B_a^b_kE_b^k = 0, where B_a^b_k are constants.     

Hot gluon matter in a constantA 0 background

We compute the effective action of finiteT SU(3) gauge theory in a constant diagonal background fieldA ₀(t,x)=B ₀ ³ T₃+B ₀ ⁸ T₈ in the general covariant background gauge up to terms of orderg ³.B ₀ ^3,8 shield the infrared singularities and the aim is to study whether the minimum of the effective action would determine their values dynamically. We find that the orderg ² term depends explicitly on the gauge fixing parameter ξ. Since the background field screens already at the tree diagram level the interactions of the six non-diagonal gluon fields they do not contribute to the plasmon-likeg ³ term. The two diagonal fieldsA ₀ ³ ,A ₀ ⁸ do, but the electric mass squared they develop will become negative if the background fields are larger than aboutT/g. Hence large background fields make the system unstable.     

VII. Difficulties in fixing the gauge in non-Abelian gauge theories

Some problems arising from the use of the Coulomb gauge in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory are discussed. It is shown that: i) the transversality condition does not fix the gauge uniquely (Gribov ambiguity); ii) there exist physical configurations that cannot be described by a continuous A_μ in the Coulomb gauge.     

Two-loop diagrams in Yang-Mills theory

A calculation of the renormalisation constants of the Yang-Mills field to O(g⁴) is presented. The function β(g) is hence evaluated to O(g⁵) and possible implications for gauge theories of the strong interactions discussed.     

High Z effects in accounting for radiative component of the electron magnetic moment in hydrogen-like atoms

The behavior of electron energy levels in hydrogen-like atoms is studied while taking into account the nonperturbative interaction between the radiative component of the magnetic moment of a free electron Δg _free and the Coulomb field of an atomic nucleus with charge Z, including those with Z > 137. It is shown that for Zα ? 1 the energy-level shift is rather effectively determined through the matrix elements of the corresponding Dirac-Pauli operator with relativistic Coulomb wave functions. At the same time, for superheavy nuclei with Z ～ 170, this shift, generated by Δg _free, is genuinely nonperturbative, behaves like ～Z ⁵ near the threshold of negative continuum, exceeds all the estimates of radiative corrections coming from vacuum polarization and electron self-energy known so far, and turns out to be at least of the same order as the effects of nuclear charge screening by filled electron shells.     

Exact analysis of Coulomb gauge vacuum degeneracies in (2 + 1) dimensions

The solutions of the two-dimensional euclidean σ-model provide an infinite number of pure gauge field configurations satisfying the Coulomb gauge condition, in (2 + 1) dimensions. For vacuum gauge fields associated with finite action instanton solutions of the σ-model, we find that the winding number n configuration leads to n negative eigenvalues for the ghost operator, up to a finite calculable degeneracy.     

Infrared properties of two-loop,initial state spectator interactions in the Drell-Yan process

We use the light-cone axial gauge of proper-time ordered perturbation theory and study the soft-IR properties of the two-loop virtuals' diagrams considered by Bodwin, Brodsky and Lepage for ππ → μ⁺μ^- + X. It is shown that although the systematic summation over all possible spectator interactions removes the outside soft-IR divergences in the non-overlapping ladder Glauber diagrams, unphysical inside soft-IR divergences persist. So, in the light-cone axial gauge the on-shell Glauber region is not a gauge invariant concept which can be physically isolated from radiative corrections which non-trivially involve other diagrammatic regions. Due to gauge invariance it can be potentially misleading in eikonal phenomenologies based on perturbative QCD to assume an ad hoc inside soft-IR cutoff in analyzing possible non-abelian effects in multiple scatterings involving spectators.     

Strong-coupling expansions for the off-axis glueball masses

Strong-coupling expansions, up to order g^?4, for the off-axis glueball masses are developed in four-dimensional spacetime for lattice gauge theories with gauge groups SU(2), SU(3), Z₂, Z₃. Glueball mass spectra for the states 0⁺⁺, 2⁺⁺, 1^+? are obtained. Restoration of Lorentz invariance is discussed.     

On the vacuum structure of an SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

By using a compactification of the spatial part R³ of Minkowski-space different from the one-point compactification to S³, we get a new classification of the vacua for an SU(2) gauge theory. It contains, besides the vacua arising in the S³ compactification, the Gribov vacua as new classes. We discuss the role of pseudoparticle solutions within this framework and comment on the problem of the Coulomb gauge degeneracy.     

On classical Yang-Mills equation with weak external sources

The method proposed by Jackiw, Jacobs and Rebbi for solving classical Yang-Mills equations with external color changes by an expansion of the solution in powers of the external color change is applied in order to find gauge potentials A_μ^a generated by the external color charge with Hopf index ±1. This topologically non-trivial charge turns out to support a non-abelian Coulomb type solution. We also propose a gauge invariant expression for the energy in the presence of external currents.     

QCD calculations in the light-cone gauge

The non-singlet quark structure function is calculated in the leading logarithm approximation in an axial gauge with n² = 0, the light-cone gauge. The choice n² = 0 leads to a simple identity for loop integrals involving the extra n · k denominators. We compare the results graph by graph with both Feynman gauge QCD and a scalar gluon theory. The leading diagrams are the same “rainbow” diagrams as for the case of the scalar theory.The techniques are also applied to quark-quark scattering at large transverse momentum. The leading diagrams have the same dressed ladder-form factor structure.