arXiv subjects

Alexei Bazavov

Publications and source records attributed to Alexei Bazavov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Highly improved staggered quarks on anisotropic lattices

We present a study of tuning of the anisotropic highly improved staggered quark (aHISQ) action on pure gauge ensembles with the renormalized anisotropy ranging from 1 to 8. We discuss multiple gradient flow schemes for tuning the gauge anisotropy and comment on what scheme may be optimal for anisotropic simulations. Next, we compare tuning of the fermion anisotropy for the naive staggered and aHISQ actions. Finally, we study the dependence of the staggered pion taste mass splittings on anisotropy for the two actions and develop an empirical model that captures the main features of the aHISQ spectrum. We observe qualitatively different behavior of the naive and aHISQ taste spectrum with anisotropy.

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arXiv2026

Strong coupling constant from the 1-loop improved static energy

The static energy is an excellent observable for extracting the strong coupling $\alpha_s$ on the lattice. For short distances, the static energy can be calculated both on the lattice using Wilson line correlators, and with perturbation theory up to three loop accuracy with leading ultrasoft log resummation. Comparing the perturbative expression and lattice data allows for precise determination of $\alpha_s$. We present early results for 1-loop lattice perturbation theory improvement of the Wilson loop and show how it improves the $\alpha_s$ extraction. We present a preliminary reanalysis of the TUMQCD (2+1)-flavor QCD data.

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arXiv2026

Towards determination of the strong coupling $\alpha_s(m_Z)$ from four-flavor lattice QCD using the continuous $\beta$-function method

The precise value of the strong coupling $\alpha_s(m_{Z})$ at the $Z$-boson mass $m_{Z}$ is essential for high-energy phenomenology and precision tests of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). We present the status of a program targeting a $\sim 0.3\%$ determination of $\alpha_s(m_{Z})$ using the renormalization group $\beta$-function in the infinite volume gradient flow scheme based on lattice QCD simulations of degenerate four-flavor highly improved staggered quark (HISQ) ensembles. In particular, we analyze both tree-level cutoff effects and finite-mass effects. We also outline the next steps of the analysis, including the infinite-volume and continuum extrapolations required for a precise determination of $\alpha_s(m_Z)$.

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arXiv2026

Kaon leptonic and semileptonic decays with $N_f=2+1+1$ HISQ fermions

Precision tests of the Standard Model (SM) currently show a deficit in first-row Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) unitarity. In this talk, we discuss progress towards a correlated analysis of the lattice-QCD inputs needed to test this relation with kaon data using highly improved staggered quarks (HISQ) on the MILC $N_{f}=2+1+1$ configurations. We present the status of a new analysis of light-meson decay constant data where chiral-continuum fits are guided by staggered chiral perturbation theory (SChPT). The goal of SChPT is twofold: it allows us to use data not only at physical pion mass but also at unphysical masses. Moreover, it provides values of ChPT low energy constants (LECs) as well as their correlations. We also present a reanalysis of our previous kaon semileptonic form factor calculation, aiming to estimate correlations between the form factor and light-meson decay constants. We discuss the new methodology, new data included, and present some preliminary results.

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arXiv2025

High-Precision Scale Setting with the Omega-Baryon Mass and Gradient Flow

The gradient-flow scale $w_0$ in lattice QCD is determined using the mass of the $\Omega^-$ baryon to set the physical scale. Nine ensembles using the highly improved staggered quark (HISQ) action with lattice spacings of 0.15 fm down to 0.04 fm are used, seven of which have nearly physical light-quark masses. Electromagnetic corrections to the $\Omega^-$ mass are defined in order to compute a pure-QCD $\Omega$ mass. The final result is $w_0 = 0.17187(68)$ fm, corresponding to a relative uncertainty of 0.40% and a central value in good agreement with previous calculations in the literature.

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arXiv2025

Towards dynamical simulations with the anisotropic HISQ action

The primary goal of this project is the reconstruction of quarkonium spectral functions from thermal lattice correlators, relevant for the study of Quark-Gluon Plasma in heavy-ion collisions. To this end, we pursue the generation of fully dynamical anisotropic HISQ (aHISQ) ensembles, aiming at a physical strange quark and a heavier-than-physical light quark mass, corresponding to a 300 MeV continuum pion mass. We report on tuning the gauge anisotropy and the lattice spacing of anisotropic pure gauge ensembles with the tree-level Symanzik-improved action using the gradient flow and compare various tuning schemes. We also discuss the simultaneous tuning of the strange quark mass and the quark anisotropy with aHISQ, using spectrum measurements on quenched ensembles. We compare different ways to tune the quark anisotropy and discuss pion taste splittings for aHISQ at anisotropies up to 8. Finally, we present the expressions for the aHISQ fermion force required for dynamical simulations.

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arXiv2025

2N-storage Runge-Kutta methods: c-reflection symmetry and factorization of the Butcher tableau

Low-storage Runge-Kutta schemes of Williamson's type, so-called 2N-storage schemes, are further examined as a follow-up to the recent work. It is found that the augmented Butcher tableau factorizes into a product of matrices with special properties. Those properties reveal that the 2N-storage methods of the order of global accuracy less than five possess a symmetry, called c-reflection symmetry, i.e. most methods exist in pairs. A transformation that relates the Butcher tableaux of the pairs is found and the fact that the c-reflected method satisfies the same order conditions as the original one is proven. Numerical evidence that validates the analytic results is presented. Branches of solutions for (5,4) methods, first explored by Carpenter and Kennedy, are constructed numerically. Four new (5,4) schemes with coefficients expressed in radicals and one with rational coefficients are examined for illustration. Eight new (6,4) schemes, some of which can be expressed in rationals or radicals, and one (8,4) scheme, are studied to understand the practical implications of the c-reflection symmetry for methods with higher number of stages. In the absence of closed-form analytic solutions for 2N-storage Runge-Kutta methods of order four and above, the general symmetry properties, as well as some specific analytic solutions presented here, may help in development and optimization of 2N-storage schemes.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

2N-storage Runge-Kutta methods: Order conditions, general properties and some analytic solutions

Low-storage Runge-Kutta schemes of Williamson's type, so-called 2N-storage schemes, are examined. Explicit 2N-storage constraints are derived for the first time and used to establish new relations between the entries of the Butcher tableau. An error in the Williamson's formula for converting coefficients between the standard and 2N-storage formats in the special case is pointed out and corrected. The new relations are used to derive a closed-form solution for four- and five-stage 2N-storage methods with the third order of global accuracy. Several new four- and five-stage schemes with rational coefficients are presented and numerically examined for illustration.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Strong coupling in (2+1+1)-flavor QCD

The strong coupling $\alpha_\mathrm{s}$ can be obtained from the static energy as shown in previous lattices studies. For short distances, the static energy can be calculated both on the lattice with the use of Wilson line correlators, and with the perturbation theory up to three loop accuracy with leading ultrasoft log resummation. Comparing the perturbative expression and lattice data allows for precise determination of $\alpha_\mathrm{s}(m_Z)$. We will present preliminary results for the determination of $\alpha_\mathrm{s} {(M_Z)}$ in (2+1+1)-flavor QCD using the configurations made availableby the MILC-collaboration with smallest lattice spacing reaching 0.0321fm.

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arXiv2024

Hadronic vacuum polarization for the muon $g-2$ from lattice QCD: Long-distance and full light-quark connected contribution

We present results for the dominant light-quark connected contribution to the long-distance window (LD) of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution (HVP) to the muon $g-2$ from lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Specifically, with a new determination of the lattice scale on MILC's physical-mass HISQ ensembles, using the $\Omega^-$ baryon mass, we obtain a result of $400.2(2.3)_{\mathrm{stat}}(3.7)_{\mathrm{syst}}[4.3]_{\mathrm{total}} \times 10^{-10}$. Summing this result with our recent determinations of the light-quark connected contributions to the short- (SD) and intermediate-distance (W) windows, we obtain a sub-percent precision determination of the light-quark-connected contribution to HVP of $655.5(2.3)_{\mathrm{stat}}(3.9)_{\mathrm{syst}}[4.5]_{\mathrm{total}} \times 10^{-10}$. Finally, as a consistency check, we verify that an independent analysis of the full contribution is in agreement with the sum of individual windows. We discuss our future plans for improvements of our HVP calculations to meet the target precision of the Fermilab $g-2$ experiment.

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arXiv2024

Hadronic vacuum polarization for the muon $g-2$ from lattice QCD: Complete short and intermediate windows

We present complete results for the hadronic vacuum polarization (HVP) contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment $a_\mu$ in the short- and intermediate-distance window regions, which account for roughly 10% and 35% of the total HVP contribution to $a_\mu$, respectively. In particular, we perform lattice-QCD calculations for the isospin-symmetric connected and disconnected contributions, as well as corrections due to strong isospin-breaking. For the short-distance window observables, we investigate the so-called log-enhancement effects as well as the significant oscillations associated with staggered quarks in this region. For the dominant, isospin-symmetric light-quark connected contribution, we obtain $a^{ll,\,{\mathrm{SD}}}_{\mu}(\mathrm{conn.}) = 48.139(11)_{\mathrm{stat}}(91)_{\mathrm{syst}}[92]_{\mathrm{total}} \times 10^{-10}$ and $a^{ll,\,{\mathrm{W}}}_{\mu}(\mathrm{conn.}) = 206.90(14)_{\mathrm{stat}}(61)_{\mathrm{syst}}[63]_{\mathrm{total}} \times 10^{-10}$. We use Bayesian model averaging to fully estimate the covariance matrix between the individual contributions. Our determinations of the complete window contributions are $a^{{\mathrm{SD}}}_{\mu} = 69.05(1)_{\mathrm{stat}}(21)_{\mathrm{syst}}[21]_{\mathrm{total}} \times 10^{-10}$ and $a^{{\mathrm{W}}}_{\mu} = 236.45(17)_{\mathrm{stat}}(83)_{\mathrm{syst}}[85]_{\mathrm{total}} \times 10^{-10}$. This work is part of our ongoing effort to compute all contributions to HVP with an overall uncertainty at the few permille level.

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arXiv2024

Efficient State Preparation for the Schwinger Model with a Theta Term

We present a comparison of different quantum state preparation algorithms and their overall efficiency for the Schwinger model with a theta term. While adiabatic state preparation (ASP) is proved to be effective, in practice it leads to large CNOT gate counts to prepare the ground state. The quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) provides excellent results while keeping the CNOT counts small by design, at the cost of an expensive classical minimization process. We introduce a ``blocked'' modification of the Schwinger Hamiltonian to be used in the QAOA that further decreases the length of the algorithms as the size of the problem is increased. The rodeo algorithm (RA) provides a powerful tool to efficiently prepare any eigenstate of the Hamiltonian, as long as its overlap with the initial guess is large enough. We obtain the best results when combining the blocked QAOA ansatz and the RA, as this provides an excellent initial state with a relatively short algorithm without the need to perform any classical steps for large problem sizes.

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arXiv2024

Un-screened forces in Quark-Gluon Plasma?

We study the correlator of temporal Wilson lines at non-zero temperature in 2+1 flavor lattice QCD with the aim to define the heavy quark-antiquark potential at non-zero temperature. For temperatures $153~{\rm MeV} \leq T \leq 352~{\rm MeV}$ the spectral representation of this correlator is consistent with a broadened peak in the spectral function, position or width of which then defines the real or imaginary parts of the heavy quark-antiquark potential at non-zero temperature, respectively. We find that the potential's real part is not screened contrary to the widely-held expectations. We comment on how this fact may modify the picture of quarkonium melting in the quark-gluon plasma.

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arXiv2024

Symmetry Breaking in an Extended O(2) Model

Motivated by attempts to quantum simulate lattice models with continuous Abelian symmetries using discrete approximations, we study an extended-O(2) model in two dimensions that differs from the ordinary O(2) model by the addition of an explicit symmetry breaking term $-h_q\cos(qφ)$. Its coupling $h_q$ allows to smoothly interpolate between the O(2) model ($h_q=0$) and a $q$-state clock model ($h_q\rightarrow\infty$). In the latter case, a $q$-state clock model can also be defined for noninteger values of $q$. Thus, such a limit can also be considered as an analytic continuation of an ordinary $q$-state clock model to noninteger $q$. In previous work, we established the phase diagram for noninteger $q$ in the infinite coupling limit ($h_q\rightarrow\infty$). We showed that there is a second-order phase transition at low temperature and a crossover at high temperature. In this work, we seek to establish the phase diagram at finite values of the coupling using Monte Carlo and tensor methods. We show that for noninteger $q$, the second-order phase transition at low temperature and crossover at high temperature persist to finite coupling. For integer $q=2,3,4$, we know there is a second-order phase transition at infinite coupling (i.e. the well-known clock models). At finite coupling, we find that the critical exponents for $q=3,4$ vary with the coupling, and for $q=4$ the transition may turn into a BKT transition at small coupling. We comment on the similarities and differences of the phase diagrams with those of quantum simulators of the Abelian-Higgs model based on ladder-shaped arrays of Rydberg atoms.

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arXiv2024

Exploring the anisotropic HISQ (aHISQ) action

The fate of heavy quarkonia states in quark-gluon plasma is encoded in the temperature dependence of their spectral functions. Reconstruction of spectral functions from Euclidean lattice correlators is an ill-posed problem. Despite a variety of techniques developed recently, many questions remain unresolved. It is known that the situation may be improved using anisotropic ensembles that provide finer resolution in the temporal direction. To date, the effort focused on Wilson fermions. We report on our first study with anisotropic improved staggered quarks. To compute the spectrum of the anisotropic Highly Improved Staggered Quarks (aHISQ) we generated a library of anisotropic pure gauge ensembles. We discuss the gauge anisotropy tuning that is performed with the Wilson and Symanzik gradient flow, as well as tuning of the strange quark mass and quark anisotropy with aHISQ, using spectrum measurements on quenched ensembles. Finally, we discuss the impact of anisotropy on pion taste splittings for aHISQ.

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arXiv2024

Update on the gradient flow scale on the 2+1+1 HISQ ensembles

We report on the ongoing effort of improving the determination of the gradient flow scale on the (2+1+1)-flavor HISQ ensembles generated by the MILC collaboration. We compute the scales $\sqrt{t_0}/a$ and $w_0/a$ with the Wilson and Symanzik flow using three discretizations for the action density: clover, Wilson and tree-level Symanzik improved. For the absolute scale setting, we intend to employ the $Ω$-baryon mass, but are also using the pion decay constant while the $Ω$-mass calculations are in progress.

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arXiv2023

Light-quark connected intermediate-window contributions to the muon $g-2$ hadronic vacuum polarization from lattice QCD

We present a lattice-QCD calculation of the light-quark connected contribution to window observables associated with the leading-order hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, $a_μ^{\mathrm{HVP,LO}}$. We employ the MILC Collaboration's isospin-symmetric QCD gauge-field ensembles, which contain four flavors of dynamical highly-improved-staggered quarks with four lattice spacings between $a\approx 0.06$-$0.15$~fm and close-to-physical quark masses. We consider several effective-field-theory-based schemes for finite-volume and other lattice corrections and combine the results via Bayesian model averaging to obtain robust estimates of the associated systematic uncertainties. After unblinding, our final results for the intermediate and ``W2'' windows are $a^{ll,{\mathrm W}}_μ(\mathrm{conn.})=206.6(1.0) \times 10^{-10}$ and $a^{ll,\mathrm {W2}}_μ(\mathrm{conn.}) = 100.7(3.2)\times 10^{-10}$, respectively.

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arXiv2023

D-meson semileptonic decays to pseudoscalars from four-flavor lattice QCD

We present lattice-QCD calculations of the hadronic form factors for the semileptonic decays $D\toπ\ellν$, $D\to K\ellν$, and $D_s\to K\ellν$. Our calculation uses the highly improved staggered quark (HISQ) action for all valence and sea quarks and includes $N_f=2+1+1$ MILC ensembles with lattice spacings ranging from $a\approx0.12$ fm down to $0.042$ fm. At most lattice spacings, an ensemble with physical-mass light quarks is included. The HISQ action allows all the quarks to be treated with the same relativistic light-quark action, allowing for nonperturbative renormalization using partial conservation of the vector current. We combine our results with experimental measurements of the differential decay rates to determine $|V_{cd}|^{D\toπ}=0.2238(11)^{\rm Expt}(15)^{\rm QCD}(04)^{\rm EW}(02)^{\rm SIB}[22]^{\rm QED}$ and $|V_{cs}|^{D\to K}=0.9589(23)^{\rm Expt}(40)^{\rm QCD}(15)^{\rm EW}(05)^{\rm SIB}[95]^{\rm QED}$ This result for $|V_{cd}|$ is the most precise to date, with a lattice-QCD error that is, for the first time for the semileptonic extraction, at the same level as the experimental error. Using recent measurements from BES III, we also give the first-ever determination of $|V_{cd}|^{D_s\to K}=0.258(15)^{\rm Expt}(01)^{\rm QCD}[03]^{\rm QED}$ from $D_s\to K \ellν$. Our results also furnish new Standard Model calculations of the lepton flavor universality ratios $R^{D\toπ}=0.98671(17)^{\rm QCD}[500]^{\rm QED}$, $R^{D\to K}=0.97606(16)^{\rm QCD}[500]^{\rm QED}$, and $R^{D_s\to K}=0.98099(10)^{\rm QCD}[500]^{\rm QED}$, which are consistent within $2σ$ with experimental measurements. Our extractions of $|V_{cd}|$ and $|V_{cs}|$, when combined with a value for $|V_{cb}|$, provide the most precise test of second-row CKM unitarity, finding agreement with unitarity at the level of one standard deviation.

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