arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Claudio Pica.
We simulate SU(2) gauge theory with two massless Dirac fermions in the adjoint representation. We calculate the running of the Schroedinger Functional coupling and the renormalised quark mass over a wide range of length scales. The running of the coupling is consistent with the existence of an infrared fixed point (IRFP), and we find 0.07 < gamma < 0.56 at the IRFP, depending on the value of the critical coupling.
We discuss the lattice formulation of gauge theories with fermions in arbitrary representations of the color group, and present the implementation of the RHMC algorithm for simulating dynamical Wilson fermions. A first dataset is presented for the SU(2) gauge theory with two fermions in the adjoint representation, which has been proposed as a possible technicolor candidate. Simulations are performed on 8^3x16 lattices, at fixed lattice spacing. The PCAC mass, the pseudoscalar, vector and axial meson masses, the pseudoscalar meson decay constant are computed. The extrapolation to the chiral limit is discussed. However more extensive investigations are needed in order to control the systematic errors in the numerical results, and then understand in detail the phase structure of these theories.
The recently introduced orientifold planar equivalence is a promising tool for solving non-perturbative problems in QCD. One of the predictions of orientifold planar equivalence is that the chiral condensates of a theory with $N_f$ flavours of Dirac fermions in the symmetric (or antisymmetric) representation and $N_f$ flavours of Majorana fermions in the adjoint representation have the same large $N$ value for any value of the mass of the (degenerate) fermions. Assuming the invariance of the theory under charge conjugation, we prove this statement on the lattice for staggered quenched condensates in SU($N$) Yang-Mills in the large $N$ limit. Then, we compute numerically those quenched condensates for $N$ up to 8. After separating the even from the odd corrections in $1/N$, we are able to show that our data support the equivalence; however, unlike other quenched observables, subleading terms in $1/N$ are needed for describing the data for the symmetric and antisymmetric representation at $N$=3. Possible lessons for the unquenched case are discussed.
We present results for the renormalized Polyakov loop in the three lowest irreducible representations of SU(2) gauge theory at finite temperature. We will discuss their scaling behavior near $T_c$ and test Casimir scaling in the deconfined phase. Moreover, we will compare these results to calculations for the renormalized Polyakov loops in several representations in the SU(3) gauge theory.
We study quenched SU(N) gauge theories with fermions in the two-index symmetric, antisymmetric and the adjoint representations. Our main motivation is to check whether at large number of colours those theories become non-perturbatively equivalent. We prove the equivalence assuming that the charge-conjugation symmetry is not broken in pure Yang-Mills theory. We then carry out a quenched lattice simulation of the quark condensate in the symmetric, antisymmetric and the adjoint representations for SU(2), SU(3), SU(4), SU(6) and SU(8). We show that the data support the equivalence and discuss the size of subleading corrections.
We compute the masses of the $π$ and of the $ρ$ mesons in the quenched approximation on a lattice with fixed lattice spacing $a \simeq 0.145 \ \mathrm{fm}$ for SU($N$) gauge theory with $N = 2,3,4,6$. We find that a simple linear expression in $1/N^2$ correctly captures the features of the lowest-lying meson states at those values of $N$. This enables us to extrapolate to $N = \infty$ the behaviour of $m_π$ as a function of the quark mass and of $m_ρ$ as a function of $m_π$. Our results for the latter agree within 5% with recent predictions obtained in the AdS/CFT framework.
The gauge group being centreless, $G_2$ gauge theory is a good laboratory for studying the role of the centre of the group for colour confinement in Yang-Mills gauge theories. In this paper, we investigate $G_2$ pure gauge theory at finite temperature on the lattice. By studying the finite size scaling of the plaquette, the Polyakov loop and their susceptibilities, we show that a deconfinement phase transition takes place. The analysis of the pseudocritical exponents give strong evidence of the deconfinement transition being first order. Implications of our findings for scenarios of colour confinement are discussed.
In a space with some sufficiently small compact dimension (with non-trivial cycles) and with periodic boundary conditions for the fermions, the charge conjugation (C), spatial parity (P), time reversal (T) and CPT symmetries are spontaneously broken in QCD. We have investigated what are the physical consequences of the breaking of these discrete symmetries, that is what local observables can be used to detect it. We show that the breaking induces the generation of baryon currents, propagating along the compact dimensions.
In a compact space with non-trivial cycles, for sufficiently small values of the compact dimensions, charge conjugation (C), spatial reflection (P) and time reversal (T) are spontaneously broken in QCD. The order parameter for the symmetry breaking is the trace of the Wilson line wrapping around the compact dimension, which acquires an imaginary part in the broken phase. We show that a physical signature for the symmetry breaking is a persistent baryonic current wrapping in the compact directions. The existence of such a current is derived analytically at first order in perturbation theory and confirmed in the non-perturbative regime by lattice simulations.
The gauge group being centreless, $G_2$ gauge theory is a good laboratory for studying the role of the centre of the group for colour confinement in Yang-Mills gauge theories. In this paper, we investigate $G_2$ pure gauge theory at finite temperature on the lattice. By studying the finite size scaling of the plaquette, the Polyakov loop and their susceptibilities, we show that a deconfinement phase transition takes place. The analysis of the pseudocritical exponents give strong evidence of the deconfinement transition being first order. Implications of our findings for scenarios of colour confinement are discussed.
On a compact space with non-trivial cycles, for sufficiently small values of the radii of the compact dimensions, SU(N) gauge theories coupled with fermions in the fundamental representation spontaneously break charge conjugation, time reversal and parity. We show at one loop in perturbation theory that physical signature for this phenomenon is a non-zero baryonic current wrapping around the compact directions. The persistence of this current beyond the perturbative regime is checked by lattice simulations.
We compute the topological susceptibility for the SU(3) Yang--Mills theory by employing the expression of the topological charge density operator suggested by Neuberger's fermions. In the continuum limit we find r_0^4 chi = 0.059(3), which corresponds to chi=(191 +/- 5 MeV)^4 if F_K is used to set the scale. Our result supports the Witten--Veneziano explanation for the large mass of the eta'.
We present the results of a computation of the topological susceptibility in the SU(3) Yang--Mills theory performed by employing the expression of the topological charge density operator suggested by Neuberger's fermions. In the continuum limit we find r_0^4 chi = 0.059(3), which corresponds to chi=(191 \pm 5 MeV)^4 if F_K is used to set the scale. Our result supports the Witten--Veneziano explanation for the large mass of the eta'.
The chiral symmetry at finite lattice spacing of Ginsparg-Wilson fermionic actions constrains the renormalization of the lattice operators; in particular, the topological susceptibility does not require any renormalization, when using a fermionic estimator to define the topological charge. Therefore, the overlap formalism appears as an appealing candidate to study the continuum limit of the topological susceptibility while keeping the systematic errors under theoretical control. We present results for the SU(3) pure gauge theory using the index of the overlap Dirac operator to study the topology of the gauge configurations. The topological charge is obtained from the zero modes of the overlap and using a new algorithm for the spectral flow analysis. A detailed comparison with cooling techniques is presented. Particular care is taken in assessing the systematic errors. Relatively high statistics (500 to 1000 independent configurations) yield an extrapolated continuum limit with errors that are comparable with other methods. Our current value from the overlap is $χ^{1/4} = 188 \pm 12 \pm 5 \MeV$.