arXiv subjects

Anna Hasenfratz

Publications and source records attributed to Anna Hasenfratz.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Nonperturbative investigations of SU(3) gauge theory with eight dynamical flavors

We present our lattice studies of SU(3) gauge theory with $N_f$ = 8 degenerate fermions in the fundamental representation. Using nHYP-smeared staggered fermions we study finite-temperature transitions on lattice volumes as large as $L^3 \times N_t = 48^3 \times 24$, and the zero-temperature composite spectrum on lattice volumes up to $64^3 \times 128$. The spectrum indirectly indicates spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, but finite-temperature transitions with fixed $N_t \leq 24$ enter a strongly coupled lattice phase as the fermion mass decreases, which prevents a direct confirmation of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in the chiral limit. In addition to the connected spectrum we focus on the lightest flavor-singlet scalar particle. We find it to be degenerate with the pseudo-Goldstone states down to the lightest masses reached so far by non-perturbative lattice calculations. Using the same lattice approach, we study the behavior of the composite spectrum when the number of light fermions is changed from eight to four. A heavy flavor-singlet scalar in the 4-flavor theory affirms the contrast between QCD-like dynamics and the low-energy behavior of the 8-flavor theory.

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arXiv2018

Nonperturbative Renormalization of Operators in Near-Conformal Systems Using Gradient Flows

We propose a continuous real space renormalization group transformation based on gradient flow, allowing for a numerical study of renormalization without the need for costly ensemble matching. We apply our technique in a pilot study of SU$(3)$ gauge theory with $N_f = 12$ fermions in the fundamental representation, finding the mass anomalous dimension to be $γ_m = 0.23(6)$, consistent with other perturbative and lattice estimates. We also present the first lattice calculation of the nucleon anomalous dimension in this theory, finding $γ_N = 0.05(5)$.

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arXiv2018

Renormalization Group Properties of Scalar Field Theory Using Gradient Flow

Gradient flow has proved useful in the definition and measurement of renormalized quantities on the lattice. Recently, the fact that it suppresses high-modes of the field has been used to construct new, continuous RG transformations both analytically and on the lattice, distinct from the usual blocking techniques in spin models and gauge theories. In this work, we discuss such a formulation for scalar field theory, and we present preliminary numerical results for its application to the determination of critical exponents at the Wilson-Fisher fixed point of three-dimensional $ϕ^4$ theory.

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arXiv2018

Determination of the $N_f=12$ step scaling function using Möbius domain wall fermions

We calculate the renormalized step scaling function for twelve fundamental flavors nonperturbatively by determining the gradient flow coupling on gauge field configurations generated with dynamical stout-smeared Möbius domain wall fermions and Symanzik gauge action. Using Zeuthen, Symanzik, and Wilson flow we measure the energy density with three different operators. Our updated analysis is based on up to five volume pairs ranging from L^4=8^4 up to 32^4. Predictions for the infinite volume extrapolated step scaling function based on different flows and operators are mutually consistent. Our new results confirm the previously observed significant discrepancy with staggered fermion simulations in a wide range of the renormalized coupling.

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arXiv2018

Composite Higgs from mass-split models

Beyond Standard Model theories describing the electro-weak sector must exhibit a large separation of scales (or "walking") to account for a light, 125 GeV Higgs boson and the fact that so far no other resonances have been observed. Large separation of scales arises naturally and in a tunable manner in mass-split models that are built on a conformal fixed point in the ultraviolet. Splitting the fermion masses into "light" (massless) and "heavy" flavors, the system shows conformal behavior in the ultraviolet but is chirally broken in the infrared. Due to the presence of a conformal fixed point, such chirally broken systems show hyperscaling and have a highly constrained resonance spectrum that is significantly different from the QCD spectrum. We highlight most characteristic features presenting numerical data obtained from dynamical simulations of an SU(3) gauge theory with four light and eight heavy flavors. In addition, we give an outlook on ongoing work simulating an SU(3) gauge theory with four light and six heavy flavors using a set-up well suited to explore e.g. mass-generation of Standard Model fermions via four-fermion interactions or partial compositeness.

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arXiv2018

Nonperturbative beta function of twelve-flavor SU(3) gauge theory

We study the discrete beta function of SU(3) gauge theory with Nf=12 massless fermions in the fundamental representation. Using an nHYP-smeared staggered lattice action and an improved gradient flow running coupling $\tilde g_c^2(L)$ we determine the continuum-extrapolated discrete beta function up to $g_c^2 \approx 8.2$. We observe an IR fixed point at $g_{\star}^2 = 7.3\left(_{-2}^{+8}\right)$ in the $c = \sqrt{8t} / L = 0.25$ scheme, and $g_{\star}^2 = 7.3\left(_{-3}^{+6}\right)$ with c=0.3, combining statistical and systematic uncertainties in quadrature. The systematic effects we investigate include the stability of the $(a / L) \to 0$ extrapolations, the interpolation of $\tilde g_c^2(L)$ as a function of the bare coupling, the improvement of the gradient flow running coupling, and the discretization of the energy density. In an appendix we observe that the resulting systematic errors increase dramatically upon combining smaller $c \lesssim 0.2$ with smaller $L \leq 12$, leading to an IR fixed point at $g_{\star}^2 = 5.9(1.9)$ in the c=0.2 scheme, which resolves to $g_{\star}^2 = 6.9\left(_{-1}^{+6}\right)$ upon considering only $L \geq 16$. At the IR fixed point we measure the leading irrelevant critical exponent to be $γ_g^{\star} = 0.26(2)$, comparable to perturbative estimates.

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arXiv2017

Investigating BSM Models with Large Scale Separation

Mass-split systems based on a conformal infrared fixed point provide a low-energy effective description of beyond the standard model systems with large scale separation. We report results of exploratory investigations with four light and eight heavy flavors using staggered fermions, and up to five different values for the light flavor mass, five different heavy flavor masses, and two values of the bare gauge coupling.

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arXiv2017

Large scale separation and resonances within LHC range from a prototype BSM model

Many theories describing physics beyond the Standard Model rely on a large separation of scales. Large scale separation arises in models with mass-split flavors if the system is conformal in the ultraviolet but chirally broken in the infrared. Because of the conformal fixed point, these systems exhibit hyperscaling and a highly constrained resonance spectrum. We derive hyperscaling relations and investigate the realization of one such system with four light and eight heavy flavors. Our numerical simulations confirm that both light-light and heavy-heavy resonance masses show hyperscaling and depend only on the ratio of the light and heavy flavor masses. The heavy-heavy spectrum is qualitatively different from QCD and exhibits quarkonia with masses not proportional to the constituent quark mass. These resonances are only a few times heavier than the light-light ones, which would put them within reach of the LHC.

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arXiv2017

Testing Fermion Universality at a Conformal Fixed Point

Universality of various fermion formulations is well established in QCD-like theories defined around the perturbative $g^2=0$ fixed point. These arguments do not apply for conformal systems that exhibit an infrared fixed point at non-vanishing $g^2$ coupling. We investigate the step scaling function for systems with 10 or 12 fundamental flavors using domain wall fermions and compare it to perturbative predictions. We test universality by contrasting our findings to results published in the literature based on staggered fermions.

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arXiv2016

Infrared properties of a prototype model for beyond-Standard Model physics

We construct a prototype BSM model based on the SU(3) color gauge group and a combination of 4 light (massless) and 8 heavy flavors. In the infrared, the SU(4) flavor chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken, while in the ultraviolet this model exhibits the properties of the $N_f=12$ conformal fixed point. Renormalization group considerations predict the spectrum of such a system to show hyperscaling, i.e. dimensionless ratios of hadron masses or decay constants are independent of the heavy mass. Hyperscaling is present for bound states of light, heavy, or a combination of heavy and light flavors and leads to a strongly predictive model. Despite chiral symmetry breaking, this system features a spectrum exhibiting a very non-QCD like behavior. Furthermore, the gauge coupling becomes an irrelevant parameter. We support these expectations by presenting numerical results based on four different values of the heavy quark mass $am_h$, up to six different values of the light quark mass $am_\ell$, and include, for the first time, preliminary data at a second value of the gauge coupling $β$. Our model can be embedded in scenarios describing the Higgs boson either as a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson or a dilaton-like particle.

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arXiv2016

Strongly interacting dynamics and the search for new physics at the LHC

We present results for the spectrum of a strongly interacting SU(3) gauge theory with $N_f = 8$ light fermions in the fundamental representation. Carrying out non-perturbative lattice calculations at the lightest masses and largest volumes considered to date, we confirm the existence of a remarkably light singlet scalar particle. We explore the rich resonance spectrum of the 8-flavor theory in the context of the search for new physics beyond the standard model at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Connecting our results to models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking, we estimate the vector resonance mass to be about 2 TeV with a width of roughly 450 GeV, and predict additional resonances with masses below ~3 TeV.

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arXiv2015

The renormalization group step scaling function of the 2-flavor SU(3) sextet model

We investigate the discrete $β$ function of the 2-flavor SU(3) sextet model using the finite volume gradient flow scheme. Our results, using clover improved nHYP smeared Wilson fermions, follow the (non-universal) 4-loop $\overline{\textrm{MS}}$ perturbative predictions closely up to $g^2 \approx 5.5$, the strongest coupling reached in our simulation. At strong couplings the results are in tension with a recently published work using the same gradient flow renormalization scheme with staggered fermions. Since these calculations define the discrete $β$ function in the same continuum renormalization scheme, they should lead to the same continuum predictions, irrespective of the lattice fermion action. In order to test systematic effects in our computation we compare two different lattice operators, three different flow definitions, and two volume extrapolations. We find agreement among these different approaches in the continuum limit when the gradient flow parameter $c\gtrsim0.35$. Considering the potential phenomenological impact of this model, it is important to understand the origin of the disagreement between our work and the staggered fermion results.

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arXiv2015

Nonperturbative beta function of eight-flavor SU(3) gauge theory

We present a new lattice study of the discrete beta function for SU(3) gauge theory with Nf=8 massless flavors of fermions in the fundamental representation. Using the gradient flow running coupling, and comparing two different nHYP-smeared staggered lattice actions, we calculate the 8-flavor step-scaling function at significantly stronger couplings than were previously accessible. Our continuum-extrapolated results for the discrete beta function show no sign of an IR fixed point up to couplings of g^2~14. At the same time, we find that the gradient flow coupling runs much more slowly than predicted by two-loop perturbation theory, reinforcing previous indications that the 8-flavor system possesses nontrivial strongly coupled IR dynamics with relevance to BSM phenomenology.

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arXiv2015

Finite-temperature study of eight-flavor SU(3) gauge theory

We present new lattice investigations of finite-temperature transitions for SU(3) gauge theory with Nf=8 light flavors. Using nHYP-smeared staggered fermions we are able to explore renormalized couplings $g^2 \lesssim 20$ on lattice volumes as large as $48^3 \times 24$. Finite-temperature transitions at non-zero fermion mass do not persist in the chiral limit, instead running into a strongly coupled lattice phase as the mass decreases. That is, finite-temperature studies with this lattice action require even larger $N_T > 24$ to directly confirm spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking.

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arXiv2015

Improved gradient flow for step scaling function and scale setting

The gradient flow renormalized coupling offers a simple and relatively inexpensive way to calculate the step scaling function and the lattice scale, but both applications can be hindered by large lattice artifacts. Recently we introduced an empirical non-perturbative improvement that can reduce, even remove $\mathcal{O}(a^2)$ lattice artifacts. The method is easy to implement and can be applied to any lattice gauge theory of interest both in step scaling studies and for scale setting. In this talk I will briefly review this improvement method and discuss its application for determining the discrete $β$ function of the 8 and 12 flavor SU(3) systems and for improved scale setting in 2+1+1 flavor QCD

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arXiv2014

Targeting the Conformal Window: Scalars on the Lattice

The light Higgs boson of the Standard Model could arise as the consequence of the weakly broken conformal symmetry in a strongly interacting gauge theory. Here we present a novel idea to study the transition from conformal to confining behavior using an SU(3) gauge theory with four light and eight heavy flavors. This system interpolates between the 12-flavor conformal and the 4 flavor chirally broken theory as the mass of the heavy flavors are varied. We show first results on our determination of the iso-singlet 0++ state.

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arXiv2014

Targeting the conformal window with 4+8 flavors

We study the transition between spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking and conformal behavior in the SU(3) theory with multiple fermion flavors. Instead of the traditional approach of changing the number of flavors, we keep the number of fermions fixed but lift the mass of a subset, keeping the remaining fermions near to the massless chiral limit. This way we can interpolate continuously between the conformal and chirally broken dynamics. In particular, we consider four light and eight heavy flavors and investigate the running/walking gauge coupling and the low energy meson spectrum, including the 0++ iso-singlet scalar state in this system. Our preliminary data reveal an iso-singlet scalar that is considerably lighter than the pion at large fermion mass but becomes heavier at smaller masses. This behavior is of particular phenomenological interest.

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arXiv2014

A novel approach to the study of conformality in the SU(3) theory with multiple flavors

We investigate the transition between spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking and conformal behavior in the SU(3) theory with multiple fermion flavors. We propose a new strategy for studying this transition. Instead of changing the number of flavors, we lift the mass of a subset of the fermions, keeping the rest of the fermions near to the massless chiral limit in order to probe the transition. Dedicated to the 60th birthday of Academician Valery Rubakov.

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