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Attilio Cucchieri

Publications and source records attributed to Attilio Cucchieri.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The Minimal Landau Background Gauge on the Lattice

We present the first numerical implementation of the minimal Landau background gauge for Yang-Mills theory on the lattice. Our approach is a simple generalization of the usual minimal Landau gauge and is formulated for general SU(N) gauge group. We also report on preliminary tests of the method in the four-dimensional SU(2) case, using different background fields. Our tests show that the convergence of the numerical minimization process is comparable to the case of a null background. The uniqueness of the minimizing functional employed is briefly discussed.

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Ghost dissection

We show that a necessary condition to have a positive Landau-gauge ghost propagator in d=2 Yang-Mills theories is a vanishing zero-momentum gluon propagator. Our proof is based on a careful scrutinizing of the ghost Dyson-Schwinger equation. Said otherwise, the Gribov no-pole condition forbids the occurrence of the "decoupling/massive" gluon propagator solution in d=2, in sharp contrast with d=3 and 4, but consistent with state-of-the-art lattice data.

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The No-Pole Condition in Landau gauge: Properties of the Gribov Ghost Form-Factor and a Constraint on the 2d Gluon Propagator

We study the Landau-gauge Gribov ghost form-factor sigma(p^2) for SU(N) Yang-Mills theories in the d-dimensional case. We find a qualitatively different behavior for d=3,4 w.r.t. d=2. In particular, considering any (sufficiently regular) gluon propagator D(p^2) and the one-loop-corrected ghost propagator G(p^2), we prove in the 2d case that sigma(p^2) blows up in the infrared limit p -> 0 as -D(0)\ln(p^2). Thus, for d=2, the no-pole condition σ(p^2) < 1 (for p^2 > 0) can be satisfied only if D(0) = 0. On the contrary, in d=3 and 4, sigma(p^2) is finite also if D(0) > 0. The same results are obtained by evaluating G(p^2) explicitly at one loop, using fitting forms for D(p^2) that describe well the numerical data of D(p^2) in d=2,3,4 in the SU(2) case. These evaluations also show that, if one considers the coupling constant g^2 as a free parameter, G(p^2) admits a one-parameter family of behaviors (labelled by g^2), in agreement with Boucaud et al. In this case the condition sigma(0) <= 1 implies g^2 <= g^2_c, where g^2_c is a 'critical' value. Moreover, a free-like G(p^2) in the infrared limit is obtained for any value of g^2 < g^2_c, while for g^2 = g^2_c one finds an infrared-enhanced G(p^2). Finally, we analyze the Dyson-Schwinger equation (DSE) for sigma(p^2) and show that, for infrared-finite ghost-gluon vertices, one can bound sigma(p^2). Using these bounds we find again that only in the d=2 case does one need to impose D(0) = 0 in order to satisfy the no-pole condition. The d=2 result is also supported by an analysis of the DSE using a spectral representation for G(p^2). Thus, if the no-pole condition is imposed, solving the d=2 DSE cannot lead to a massive behavior for D(p^2). These results apply to any Gribov copy inside the so-called first Gribov horizon, i.e. the 2d result D(0) = 0 is not affected by Gribov noise. These findings are also in agreement with lattice data.

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Massive gluon propagator at zero and finite temperature

We report on our study of the infrared gluon propagator for SU(2) lattice gauge theory using large lattice volumes. The observed massive behavior is discussed from the point of view of analytic predictions for the zero-temperature case. Such a behavior is still present as the temperature is switched on, but manifests itself differently in the electric and magnetic channels.

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Modeling the Gluon Propagator in Landau Gauge: Lattice Estimates of Pole Masses and Dimension-Two Condensates

We present an analytic description of numerical results for the Landau-gauge SU(2) gluon propagator D(p^2), obtained from lattice simulations (in the scaling region) for the largest lattice sizes to date, in d = 2, 3 and 4 space-time dimensions. Fits to the gluon data in 3d and in 4d show very good agreement with the tree-level prediction of the Refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) framework, supporting a massive behavior for D(p^2) in the infrared limit. In particular, we investigate the propagator's pole structure and provide estimates of the dynamical mass scales that can be associated with dimension-two condensates in the theory. In the 2d case, fitting the data requires a non-integer power of the momentum p in the numerator of the expression for D(p^2). In this case, an infinite-volume-limit extrapolation gives D(0) = 0. Our analysis suggests that this result is related to a particular symmetry in the complex-pole structure of the propagator and not to purely imaginary poles, as would be expected in the original Gribov-Zwanziger scenario.

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Electric and magnetic Landau-gauge gluon propagators in finite-temperature SU(2) gauge theory

We perform lattice simulations in pure-SU(2) Yang-Mills theory to investigate how the infrared behavior of electric and magnetic gluon propagators in Landau gauge is affected by temperature. We consider the largest lattices to date, in an attempt to keep systematic errors under control. Electric and magnetic screening masses are calculated through an Ansatz from the zero-temperature case, based on complex-conjugate poles for the momentum-space propagators. As recently reported in [1], we find good fits to the proposed form at all temperatures considered, with different ratios of real to imaginary part of the pole masses for the longitudinal (electric) and transverse (magnetic) propagators. The behavior of the magnetic propagator D_T(p) is in agreement with the dimensional-reduction picture, showing infrared suppression (with a turnover in momentum) and violation of spectral positivity at all nonzero temperatures considered. The longitudinal propagator D_L(p) appears to reach a plateau at small momenta and is subject to severe finite-Nt effects around the critical temperature Tc. As a consequence, only lattices with temporal extent Nt > 8 seem to be free from systematic errors. After these errors are removed, the infrared-plateau value is considerably reduced around the transition and the sharp peak observed previously for this quantity at Tc is no longer present. The resulting infrared behavior for D_L(p) at Tc is essentially the same as for 0.5Tc . An investigation of the temperature range between 0.5Tc and Tc reveals that a less pronounced (finite) peak may occur at smaller temperatures, e.g. T ~ 0.9Tc.

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Gluon Propagators in Linear Covariant Gauge

The implementation of the linear covariant gauge on the lattice faces a conceptual problem: using the standard compact discretization, the gluon field is bounded, while the four-divergence of the gluon field satisfies a Gaussian distribution, i.e. it is unbounded. This can give rise to convergence problems when a numerical implementation is attempted. In order to overcome this problem, one can use different discretizations for the gluon field or consider an SU(N_c) group with sufficiently large N_c. One can also consider small values of the gauge parameter xi and study numerically the limiting case of xi \to 0, i.e. the Landau gauge. These different approaches will be discussed here.

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Feynman gauge on the lattice: new results and perspectives

We have recently introduced a new implementation of the Feynman gauge on the lattice, based on a minimizing functional that extends in a natural way the Landau-gauge case, while preserving all the properties of the continuum formulation. The only remaining difficulty with our approach is that, using the standard (compact) discretization, the gluon field is bounded, while its four-divergence satisfies a Gaussian distribution, i.e. it is unbounded. This can give rise to convergence problems when a numerical implementation is attempted. In order to overcome this problem, one can use different discretizations for the gluon field, or consider an SU(N_c) group with sufficiently large N_c. Here we discuss these two possible solutions.

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The Saga of Landau-Gauge Propagators: Gathering New Ammo

Compelling evidence has recently emerged from lattice simulations in favor of the massive solution of the Schwinger-Dyson equations of Landau-gauge QCD. The main objections to these lattice results are based on possible Gribov-copy effects. We recently installed at IFSC-USP a new GPU cluster dedicated to the study of Green's functions. We present here our point of view on the Saga and the status of our project. We also show data for the 2D case on a 2560^2 lattice.

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Further Investigation of Massive Landau-Gauge Propagators in the Infrared Limit

We investigate how the infrared behavior of electric and magnetic gluon propagators in Landau gauge is affected by temperature. More precisely, we perform large-lattice simulations in pure SU(2) gauge theory around the transition temperature Tc and study the longitudinal (electric) and transverse (magnetic) gluon propagators in momentum space, proposing the calculation of screening masses through an Ansatz from the zero-temperature case. Going from zero to nonzero temperature, we see that the longitudinal gluon propagator DL(p) is enhanced, with an apparent plateau value in the infrared, while the transverse propagator DT(p) gets progressively more infrared-suppressed, with a clear turnover in momentum at all nonzero temperatures considered. Our data allow us to associate what was previously seen as a peak in the infrared value of DL(p) at Tc to severe finite-size effects along the temperature direction. In particular, a temporal lattice extent Nt >= 8 seems to be needed to study the electric sector around the transition. Once these systematic errors are eliminated, the infrared behavior of the longitudinal propagator appears to be rather independent of the temperature below the transition. Above Tc, the infrared value of DL(p) starts to decrease monotonically with the temperature.

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Simulating linear covariant gauges on the lattice: a new approach

We discuss a new lattice implementation of the linear covariant gauge, recently introduced in [1]. In particular, we present details of the numerical procedure for fixing the gauge. We also report on preliminary results for the transverse and longitudinal gluon propagators for the SU(2) gauge group in four space-time dimensions.

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Landau-gauge propagators in Yang-Mills theories at beta = 0: massive solution versus conformal scaling

We study Landau-gauge gluon and ghost propagators in Yang-Mills theories at lattice parameter beta = 0, considering relatively large lattice volumes for the case of the SU(2) gauge group in three and four space-time dimensions. We compare the lattice data to the so-called massive and conformal-scaling solutions, examining the requirements for a good description of the propagators over various ranges of momenta and discussing possible systematic errors. Our analysis strongly supports the massive solution, i.e. a finite gluon propagator and an essentially free ghost propagator in the infrared limit, in disagreement with Ref. [1]. Moreover, we argue that discretization effects play no role in the analysis of these propagators.

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Covariant gauge on the lattice: a new implementation

We derive a new implementation of linear covariant gauges on the lattice, based on a minimizing functional that can be interpreted as the Hamiltonian of a spin-glass model in a random external magnetic field. We show that our method solves most problems encountered in earlier implementations, mostly related to the no-go condition formulated by L. Giusti, Nucl. Phys. B 498, 331 (1997). We carry out tests in the SU(2) case in four space-time dimensions. We also present preliminary results for the transverse gluon propagator at different values of the gauge parameter xi.

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Infrared behavior and infinite-volume limit of gluon and ghost propagators in Yang-Mills theories

Lattice studies of the infrared behavior of gluon and ghost propagators are a key probe of confinement scenarios in Yang-Mills theories. However, finite-volume effects become an important issue as the infrared limit is approached. By considering general quantities -- namely an associated susceptibility in the gluon case and properties of the lowest-lying eigenmode of the Faddeev-Popov matrix in the ghost case -- one can derive rigorous upper and lower bounds for the propagators. The bounds allow a better control over the extrapolation of lattice results to the infinite-volume limit. In the case of the gluon propagator, an intuitive statistical argument suggests a precise volume dependence for the bounds. This dependence is nicely confirmed by the lattice data, leading to a finite gluon propagator at zero momentum. At the same time, an enhancement of the ghost propagator in the infrared limit seems unlikely. Our analysis is applied to the case of Landau gauge and SU(2) gauge group, using the largest lattice sizes to date.

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Infrared Propagators in MAG and Feynman gauge on the lattice

We propose to investigate infrared properties of gluon and ghost propagators related to the so-called Gribov-Zwanziger confinement scenario, originally formulated for Landau and Coulomb gauges, for other gauges as well. We present results of our investigation of SU(2) lattice gauge theory in the maximally Abelian gauge (MAG), focusing on the behavior of propagators in the off-diagonal (i.e. non-Abelian) sector. We also comment on our preliminary results for general linear covariant gauges, in particular for Feynman gauge.

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How to extract information from Green's functions in Landau gauge

The infrared behavior of gluon and ghost propagators offers a crucial test of confinement scenarios in Yang-Mills theories. A nonperturbative study of these propagators from first principles is possible in lattice simulations, but one must consider significantly large lattice sizes in order to approach the infrared limit. We propose constraints based on general properties of the propagators to gain control over the extrapolation of data to the infinite-volume limit. These bounds also provide a way to relate the propagators to simpler, more intuitive quantities. We apply our analysis to the case of pure SU(2) gauge theory in Landau gauge, using the largest lattice sizes to date. Our results seem to contradict commonly accepted confinement scenarios. We argue that it is not so.

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