arXiv subjects

Constantia Alexandrou

Publications and source records attributed to Constantia Alexandrou.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

A lattice QCD determination of the neutron electric dipole moment at the physical point

Results are presented on the neutron electric dipole moment using an ensemble of $N_f=2+1+1$ twisted mass clover-improved fermions with lattice spacing of $a\simeq 0.08$ fm and physical pion mass ($m_π\simeq 139$ MeV). The approach followed in this work is to compute the $CP$-odd electromagnetic form factor $F_3(Q^2\rightarrow0)$ at zero momentum transfer by expanding the action to leading order in $θ$. This gives rise to correlation functions that involve the topological charge, for which we employ a fermionic definition by means of spectral projectors. We include a comparison between the results using the fermionic and the gluonic definition, where for the latter we employ the gradient flow. We show that using spectral projectors leads to half the statistical uncertainty on the evaluation of $F_3(0)$. Using the fermionic definition, we find a value of $\lvert d_N\rvert = 0.0009(24)\,θ\, \rm{e}\cdot\rm{fm}$.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Nucleon form factors from $N_f$=2+1+1 twisted mass QCD at the physical point

We present the nucleon axial and electromagnetic form factors using \Nf{2}{1}{1} ensembles of twisted mass fermions with clover improvement and with masses tuned to their physical values. Excited state effects are studied using several sink-source time separations in the range 0.8 fm - 1.6 fm, exponentially increasing statistics with the separation such that statistical errors remain approximately constant. In addition, quark loop disconnected diagrams are included in order to extract the isoscalar axial form factors and the proton and neutron electromagnetic form factors, as well as their strange-quark contributions. The radii and moments are extracted by modelling the $Q^2$ dependence, including using the so-called $z$-expansion. A preliminary assessment of lattice cut-off effects is presented using two lattice spacings directly at the physical point.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Elastic $π-N$ scattering in the $I=3/2$ channel

We present our study of $π-N$ scattering in the iso-spin $I=3/2$ channel for the first time at the physical point. The calculation is performed using $N_f=2+1+1$ flavors of twisted mass fermions with clover improvement at physical pion mass. We compute energy levels for the rest frame and moving frames up to a total momentum of $|\vec{P}|=\sqrt{3} \,\frac{2π}{L}$, and for all the relevant ireducible representations of the lattice symmetry groups. We perform a phase-shift analysis including $s\,(\ell=0)$ and $p\,(\ell=1)$ wave phase shifts assuming a Breit-Wigner form and determine the parameters of the $Δ$ resonance.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

$x$-dependence reconstruction of pion and kaon PDFs from Mellin moments

We present a calculation of the connected-diagram contributions to the first three non-trivial Mellin moments for the pion and kaon, extracted using local operators with up to 3 covariant derivatives. We use one ensemble of gauge configurations with two degenerate light, a strange and a charm quark ($N_f$=2+1+1) of maximally twisted mass fermions with clover improvement. The ensemble has a pion mass $\sim$260 MeV, and a kaon mass $\sim$530 MeV. We reconstruct the $x$-dependence of the PDFs via fits to our results, and find that our lattice data favor a $(1-x)^2$-behavior in the large-$x$ region for both the pion and kaon PDFs. We integrate the reconstructed PDFs to extract the higher moments, $\langle x^n \rangle$, with $4 \leq n \leq 6$. Finally, we compare the pion and kaon PDFs, as well as the ratios of their Mellin moments, to address the effect of SU(3) flavor symmetry breaking.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Pion and kaon form factors using twisted-mass fermions

We present a calculation of the scalar, vector and tensor pion and kaon form factors using one ensemble of two degenerate light, a strange and a charm quark ($N_f=2+1+1$) of maximally twisted mass fermions with clover improvement. The quark masses are chosen so that they produce a pion mass of about 265 MeV, and a kaon mass of 530 MeV. The lattice spacing of the ensemble is 0.093 fm and the lattice has a spatial extent of 3 fm. We use a rest frame, as well as a boosted frame to obtain the form factors for a wider and denser set of four-vector momentum transfer squared, $Q^2$. To assess and eliminate excited-states contamination, we analyze several values of the source-sink time separation within the range of 1.12 - 2.23 fm (1.12 - 1.67 fm) for the rest (boosted) frame. The $Q^2$ dependence of the form factors is parametrized using a monopole fit, which leads to the extraction of the corresponding radius, and the tensor anomalous magnetic moment for the tensor form factor. The results for these parametrizations are compared for the pion and kaon to assess the level of the SU(3) flavor symmetry breaking.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Lattice QCD results for the topological up-quark mass contribution: too small to rescue the $m_u=0$ solution to the strong CP problem

A vanishing Yukawa coupling of the up quark could in principle solve the strong CP problem. To render this solution consistent with current algebra results, the up quark must receive an alternative mass contribution that conserves CP symmetry. Such a contribution could be provided by QCD through non-perturbative topological effects, including instantons. In this talk, we present the first direct lattice computation of this topological mass contribution, using gauge configurations generated by the Extended Twisted Mass collaboration. We use the Iwasaki gauge action, Wilson twisted mass fermions at maximal twist, and dynamical up, down, strange and charm quarks. Our result for the topological mass contribution is an order of magnitude too small to account for the phenomenologically required up-quark mass. This rules out the "massless" up-quark solution to the strong CP problem, in accordance with previous results relying on $χ$PT fits to lattice data. The talk is based on [Alexandrou et al., PRL 125, 232001 (2020)], where more details can be found.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Investigating the variance increase of readout error mitigation through classical bit-flip correction on IBM and Rigetti quantum computers

Readout errors are among the most dominant errors on current noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices. Recently, an efficient and scaleable method for mitigating such errors has been developed, based on classical bit-flip correction. In this talk, we compare the performance of this method for IBM's and Rigetti's quantum devices, demonstrating how the method improves the noisy measurements of observables obtained on the quantum hardware. Moreover, we examine the variance amplification to the data after applying of our mitigation procedure, which is common to all mitigation strategies. We derive a new expression for the variance of the mitigated Pauli operators in terms of the corrected expectation values and the noisy variances.Our hardware results show good agreement with the theoretical prediction, and we demonstrate that the increase of the variance due to the mitigation procedure is only moderate.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Gradient flow scale-setting with $N_f=2+1+1$ Wilson-clover twisted-mass fermions

We present a determination of the gradient flow scales $w_0$, $\sqrt{t_0}$ and $t_0/w_0$ in isosymmetric QCD, making use of the gauge ensembles produced by the Extended Twisted Mass Collaboration (ETMC) with $N_f=2+1+1$ flavours of Wilson-clover twisted-mass quarks including configurations close to the physical point for all dynamical flavours. The simulations are carried out at three values of the lattice spacing and the scale is set through the PDG value of the pion decay constant, yielding $w_0=0.17383(63)$ fm, $\sqrt{t_0}=0.14436(61)$ fm and $t_0/w_0=0.11969(62)$ fm. Finally, fixing the kaon mass to its isosymmetric value, we determine the ratio of the kaon and pion leptonic decay constants to be $f_K/f_π=1.1995(44)$.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

The scalar, vector and tensor form factors for the pion and kaon from lattice QCD

We present a calculation of the scalar, vector, and tensor form factors for the pion and kaon in lattice QCD. We use an ensemble of two degenerate light, a strange and a charm quark ($N_f=2+1+1$) of maximally twisted mass fermions with clover improvement. The corresponding pion and kaon masses are about 265 MeV and 530 MeV, respectively. The calculation is done in both rest and boosted frames obtaining data for four-vector momentum transfer squared up to $-q^2=2.5$ GeV$^2$ for the pion and 3 GeV$^2$ for the kaon. The excited-states effects are studied by analyzing six values of the source-sink time separation for the rest frame ($1.12-2.23$ fm) and for four values for the boosted frame ($1.12-1.67$ fm). The lattice data are renormalized non-perturbatively and the results for the scheme- and scale-dependent scalar and tensor form factors are presented in the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme at a scale of 2 GeV. We apply different parametrizations to describe $q^2$-dependence of the form factors to extract the scalar, vector, and tensor radii, as well as the tensor anomalous magnetic moment. We compare the pion and kaon form factors to study SU(3) flavor symmetry breaking effects. By combining the data for the vector and tensor form factors we also obtain the lowest moment of the densities of transversely polarized quarks in the impact parameter space. Finally, we give an estimate for the average transverse shift in the $y$ direction for polarized quarks in the $x$ direction.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Generalized parton distributions of the proton from lattice QCD

Generalized parton distributions (GPDs) are among the most fundamental quantities for describing the internal structure of hadrons. In this work, we present results on isovector GPDs of the proton obtained within lattice Quantum Chromodynamics. We use the quasi-distribution formalism and perform the calculations on an ensemble of $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ twisted mass fermions, with pion mass $M_π=260$~MeV and lattice spacing $a\simeq 0.093$~fm. Results are presented for unpolarized, helicity, and transversity GPDs at zero and nonzero skewness with controlled statistical uncertainties. Comparisons with their forward limit show qualitative features anticipated from model calculations.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Quark and gluon momentum fractions in the pion from $N_f=2+1+1$ lattice QCD

We perform the first full decomposition of the pion momentum into its gluon and quark contributions. We employ an ensemble generated by the Extended Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f=2 + 1 +1$ Wilson twisted mass clover fermions at maximal twist tuned to reproduce the physical pion mass. We present our results in the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme at $2\gev$. We find $\avgx_{u+d}=0.601(28)$, $\avgx_s=0.059(13)$, $\avgx_c=0.019(05)$, and $\avgx_g=0.52(11)$ for the separate contributions, respectively, whose sum saturates the momentum sum rule.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Flavor decomposition of the nucleon unpolarized, helicity and transversity parton distribution functions from lattice QCD simulations

We present results on the quark unpolarized, helicity and transversity parton distributions functions of the nucleon. We use the quasi-parton distribution approach within the lattice QCD framework and perform the computation using an ensemble of twisted mass fermions with the strange and charm quark masses tuned to approximately their physical values and light quark masses giving pion mass of 260 MeV. We use hierarchical probing to evaluate the disconnected quark loops. We discuss identification of ground state dominance, the Fourier transform procedure and convergence with the momentum boost. We find non-zero results for the disconnected isoscalar and strange quark distributions. The determination of the quark parton distribution and in particular the strange quark contributions that are poorly known provide valuable input to the structure of the nucleon.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Modeling the evolution of COVID-19 via compartmental and particle-based approaches: application to the Cyprus case

We present two different approaches for modeling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both approaches are based on the population classes susceptible, exposed, infectious, quarantined, and recovered and allow for an arbitrary number of subgroups with different infection rates and different levels of testing. The first model is derived from a set of ordinary differential equations that incorporates the rates at which population transitions take place among classes. The other is a particle model, which is a specific case of crowd simulation model, in which the disease is transmitted through particle collisions and infection rates are varied by adjusting the particle velocities. The parameters of these two models are tuned using information on COVID-19 from the literature and country-specific data, including the effect of restrictions as they were imposed and lifted. We demonstrate the applicability of both models using data from Cyprus, for which we find that both models yield very similar results, giving confidence in the predictions.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2021

P-wave nucleon-pion scattering amplitude in the $Δ(1232)$ channel from lattice QCD

We determine the $Δ(1232)$ resonance parameters using lattice QCD and the Lüscher method. The resonance occurs in elastic pion-nucleon scattering with $J^P=3/2^+$ in the isospin $I = 3/2$, $P$-wave channel. Our calculation is performed with $N_f=2+1$ flavors of clover fermions on a lattice with $L\approx 2.8$ fm. The pion and nucleon masses are $m_π=255.4(1.6)$ MeV and $m_N=1073(5)$ MeV, and the strong decay channel $Δ\rightarrow πN$ is found to be above the threshold. To thoroughly map out the energy-dependence of the nucleon-pion scattering amplitude, we compute the spectra in all relevant irreducible representations of the lattice symmetry groups for total momenta up to $\vec{P}=\frac{2π}{L}(1,1,1)$, including irreps that mix $S$ and $P$ waves. We perform global fits of the amplitude parameters to up to 21 energy levels, using a Breit-Wigner model for the $P$-wave phase shift and the effective-range expansion for the $S$-wave phase shift. From the location of the pole in the $P$-wave scattering amplitude, we obtain the resonance mass $m_Δ=1378(7)(9)$ MeV and the coupling $g_{Δ\text{-}πN}=23.8(2.7)(0.9)$.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Lattice continuum-limit study of nucleon quasi-PDFs

The quasi-PDF approach provides a path to computing parton distribution functions (PDFs) using lattice QCD. This approach requires matrix elements of a power-divergent operator in a nucleon at high momentum and one generically expects discretization effects starting at first order in the lattice spacing $a$. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate that the continuum limit can be reliably taken and to understand the size and shape of lattice artifacts. In this work, we report a calculation of isovector unpolarized and helicity PDFs using lattice ensembles with $N_f=2+1+1$ Wilson twisted mass fermions, a pion mass of approximately 370 MeV, and three different lattice spacings. Our results show a significant dependence on $a$, and the continuum extrapolation produces a better agreement with phenomenology. The latter is particularly true for the antiquark distribution at small momentum fraction $x$, where the extrapolation changes its sign.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

The pion and kaon $\langle x^3 \rangle$ from lattice QCD and PDF reconstruction from Mellin moments

We present a calculation of the pion and kaon Mellin moment $\langle x^3 \rangle$ extracted directly in lattice QCD using a three-derivative local operator. We use one ensemble of gauge configurations with two degenerate light, a strange and a charm quark ($N_f=2+1+1$) of maximally twisted mass fermions with clover improvement. The ensemble reproduces a pion mass $\sim260$ MeV, and a kaon mass $\sim530$ MeV. Excited-states contamination is evaluated using four values of the source-sink time separation within the range of $1.12-1.67$ fm. We use an operator that is free of mixing, and apply a multiplicative renormalization function calculated non-perturbatively. Our results are converted to the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme and evolved at a scale of 2 GeV, using three-loop expressions in perturbation theory. The final values are $\langle x^3 \rangle_π^{u^+}=0.024(18)_{\rm stat}(2)_{\rm syst}$, $\langle x^3 \rangle_K^{u^+}=0.035(6)_{\rm stat}(3)_{\rm syst}$, and $\langle x^3 \rangle_K^{s^+}=0.075(5)_{\rm stat}(1)_{\rm syst}$, where the systematic error is the uncertainty due to excited state contamination. We combine $\langle x^3 \rangle$ with the two lower moments to obtain the ratios $\langle x^3 \rangle/\langle x \rangle$ and $\langle x^3 \rangle/\langle x^2 \rangle$, as well as ratios between the pion and kaon moments. In addition, we reconstruct the $x$-dependence of the pion and kaon PDFs via 2- and 3-parameter fits to our results. We find that the reconstruction is feasible and that our lattice data favor a large $x$-dependence that falls as $(1-x)^2$ for both the pion and kaon PDFs. We integrate the reconstructed PDFs to extract the higher moments with $4\leq n\leq 6$. Finally, we compare the pion and kaon PDFs, as well as the ratios of their moments, to address the effect of SU(3) flavor symmetry breaking.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Ruling Out the Massless Up-Quark Solution to the Strong CP Problem by Computing the Topological Mass Contribution with Lattice QCD

The infamous strong CP problem in particle physics can in principle be solved by a massless up quark. In particular, it was hypothesized that topological effects could substantially contribute to the observed nonzero up-quark mass without reintroducing CP violation. Alternatively to previous work using fits to chiral perturbation theory, in this Letter, we bound the strength of the topological mass contribution with direct lattice QCD simulations, by computing the dependence of the pion mass on the dynamical strange-quark mass. We find that the size of the topological mass contribution is inconsistent with the massless up-quark solution to the strong CP problem.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

The Mellin moments $\langle x \rangle$ and $\langle x^2 \rangle$ for the pion and kaon from lattice QCD

We present a calculation of the pion quark momentum fraction, $\langle x \rangle$, and its third Mellin moment $\langle x^2 \rangle$. We also obtain directly, for the first time, $\langle x \rangle$ and $\langle x^2 \rangle$ for the kaon using local operators. We use an ensemble of two degenerate light, a strange and a charm quark ($N_f=2+1+1$) of maximally twisted mass fermions with clover improvement. The quark masses are chosen so that they reproduce a pion mass of about 260 MeV, and a kaon mass of 530 MeV. The lattice spacing of the ensemble is 0.093 fm and the lattice has a spatial extent of 3 fm. We analyze several values of the source-sink time separation within the range of $1.12-2.23$ fm to study and eliminate excited-states contributions. The necessary renormalization functions are calculated non-perturbatively in the RI$'$ scheme, and are converted to the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme at a scale of 2 GeV. The final values for the momentum fraction are $\langle x \rangle^π_{u^+}=0.261(3)_{\rm stat}(6)_{\rm syst}$, $\langle x \rangle^K_{u^+}=0.246(2)_{\rm stat}(2)_{\rm syst}$, and $\langle x \rangle^K_{s^+}=0.317(2)_{\rm stat}(1)_{\rm syst}$. For the third Mellin moments we find $\langle x^2 \rangle^π_{u^+}=0.082(21)_{\rm stat}(17)_{\rm syst}$, $\langle x^2 \rangle^K_{u^+}=0.093(5)_{\rm stat}(3)_{\rm syst}$, and $\langle x^2 \rangle^K_{s^+}=0.134(5)_{\rm stat}(2)_{\rm syst}$. The reported systematic uncertainties are due to excited-state contamination. We also give the ratio $\langle x^2 \rangle/\langle x \rangle$ which is an indication of how quickly the PDFs lose support at large $x$.

hep-lat↗