arXiv subjects

Constantia Alexandrou

Publications and source records attributed to Constantia Alexandrou.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Simulating twisted mass fermions at physical light, strange and charm quark masses

We present the QCD simulation of the first gauge ensemble of two degenerate light quarks, a strange and a charm quark with all quark masses tuned to their physical values within the twisted mass fermion formulation. Results for the pseudoscalar masses and decay constants confirm that the produced ensemble is indeed at the physical parameters of the theory. This conclusion is corroborated by a complementary analysis in the baryon sector. We examine cutoff and isospin breaking effects and demonstrate that they are suppressed through the presence of a clover term in the action.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2018

Transversity parton distribution functions from lattice QCD

We present the first direct calculation of the transversity parton distribution function within the nucleon from lattice QCD. The calculation is performed using simulations with the light quark mass fixed to its physical value and at one value of the lattice spacing. Novel elements of the calculations are non-perturbative renormalization and extraction of a formula for the matching to light-cone PDFs. Final results are presented in the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme at a scale of $\sqrt{2}$ GeV.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2018

Multigrid approach in shifted linear systems for the non-degenerated twisted mass operator

Application of multigrid solvers in shifted linear systems is studied. We focus on accelerating the rational approximation needed for simulating single flavor operators. This is particularly useful, in the case of twisted mass fermions for mass non-degenerate quarks and can be employed to accelerate the $N_f=1+1$ sector of $N_f=2+1+1$ twisted mass fermion simulations. The multigrid solver is accelerated by employing suitable initial guesses. We propose a novel strategy for proposing initial guesses for shifted linear systems based on the Lagrangian interpolation of the previous solutions.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2018

Reconstruction of light-cone parton distribution functions from lattice QCD simulations at the physical point

We present the unpolarized and helicity parton distribution functions calculated within lattice QCD simulations using physical values of the light quark mass. Non-perturbative renormalization is employed and the lattice data are converted to the MSbar-scheme at a scale of 2 GeV. A matching process is applied together with target mass corrections leading to the reconstruction of light-cone parton distribution functions. For both cases we find a similar behavior between the lattice and phenomenological data, and for the polarized PDF a nice overlap for a range of Bjorken-x values. This presents a major success for the emerging field of direct calculations of quark distributions using lattice QCD.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2018

Parton distributions and lattice QCD calculations: a community white paper

In the framework of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), parton distribution functions (PDFs) quantify how the momentum and spin of a hadron are divided among its quark and gluon constituents. Two main approaches exist to determine PDFs. The first approach, based on QCD factorization theorems, realizes a QCD analysis of a suitable set of hard-scattering measurements, often using a variety of hadronic observables. The second approach, based on first-principle operator definitions of PDFs, uses lattice QCD to compute directly some PDF-related quantities, such as their moments. Motivated by recent progress in both approaches, in this document we present an overview of lattice-QCD and global-analysis techniques used to determine unpolarized and polarized proton PDFs and their moments. We provide benchmark numbers to validate present and future lattice-QCD calculations and we illustrate how they could be used to reduce the PDF uncertainties in current unpolarized and polarized global analyses. This document represents a first step towards establishing a common language between the two communities, to foster dialogue and to further improve our knowledge of PDFs.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Simulation of an ensemble of $N_f=2+1+1$ twisted mass clover-improved fermions at physical quark masses

We present a general strategy aimed at generating $N_f=2+1+1$ configurations with quarks at their physical mass using maximally twisted mass fermions to ensure automatic $O(a)$ improvement, in the presence of a clover term tuned to reduce the charged to neutral pion mass difference. The target system, for the moment, is a lattice of size $64^3 \times 128$ with a lattice spacing $a\sim 0.08$ fm. We show preliminary results on the pion and kaon mass and decay constants.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Lattice QCD investigation of the structure of the $a_0(980)$ meson

We investigate the quark content of the scalar meson $a_0(980)$ using lattice QCD. To this end we consider correlation functions of six different two- and four-quark interpolating fields. We evaluate all diagrams, including diagrams, where quarks propagate within a timeslice, e.g. with closed quark loops. We demonstrate that diagrams containing such closed quark loops have a drastic effect on the final results and, thus, may not be neglected. Our analysis shows that in addition to the expected spectrum of two-meson scattering states there is an additional energy level around the two-particle thresholds of $K + \bar{K}$ and $η+ π$. This additional state, which is a candidate for the $a_0(980)$ meson, couples to a quark-antiquark as well as to a diquark-antidiquark interpolating field, indicating that it is a superposition of an ordinary $\bar{q} q$ and a tetraquark structure. The analysis is performed using AMIAS, a novel statistical method based on the sampling of all possible spectral decompositions of the considered correlation functions, as well as solving standard generalized eigenvalue problems.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Multigrid accelerated simulations for Twisted Mass fermions

Simulations at physical quark masses are affected by the critical slowing down of the solvers. Multigrid preconditioning has proved to deal effectively with this problem. Multigrid accelerated simulations at the physical value of the pion mass are being performed to generate $N_f = 2$ and $N_f = 2 + 1 + 1$ gauge ensembles using twisted mass fermions. The adaptive aggregation-based domain decomposition multigrid solver, referred to as DD-$α$AMG method, is employed for these simulations. Our simulation strategy consists of an hybrid approach of different solvers, involving the Conjugate Gradient (CG), multi-mass-shift CG and DD-$α$AMG solvers. We present an analysis of the multigrid performance during the simulations discussing the stability of the method. This significant speeds up the Hybrid Monte Carlo simulation by more than a factor $4$ at physical pion mass compared to the usage of the CG solver.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Computation of parton distributions from the quasi-PDF approach at the physical point

We show the first results for parton distribution functions within the proton at the physical pion mass, employing the method of quasi-distributions. In particular, we present the matrix elements for the iso-vector combination of the unpolarized, helicity and transversity quasi-distributions, obtained with $N_f=2$ twisted mass clover-improved fermions and a proton boosted with momentum $|\vec{p}|=0.83\mbox{ GeV}$. The momentum smearing technique has been applied to improve the overlap with the proton boosted state. Moreover, we present the renormalized helicity matrix elements in the RI$'$ scheme, following the non-perturbative renormalization prescription recently developed by our group.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Low-lying baryon masses using $N_f=2$ twisted mass clover-improved fermions directly at the physical point

The masses of the low-lying baryons are evaluated using an ensemble with two degenerate light twisted mass clover-improved quarks with mass tuned to reproduce the physical pion mass. The Iwasaki improved gluonic action is employed. The coupling constant value corresponds to a lattice spacing of $a=0.0938(3)(2)$ fm, determined from the nucleon mass. We find that the clover term supresses isospin symmetry breaking as compared to our previous results using $N_f=2+1+1$ twisted mass fermions. The masses of the hyperons and charmed baryons evaluated using this ensemble are in agreement with the experimental values. We provide predictions for the mass of the doubly charmed $Ξ_{cc}^*$, as well as of the doubly and triply charmed $Ω$s that have not yet been determined experimentally.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Progress in computing parton distribution functions from the quasi-PDF approach

We discuss the current developments by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration in extracting parton distribution functions from the quasi-PDF approach. We concentrate on the non-perturbative renormalization prescription recently developed by us, using the RI$'$ scheme. We show results for the renormalization functions of matrix elements needed for the computation of quasi-PDFs, including the conversion to the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme, and for renormalized matrix elements. We discuss the systematic effects present in the $Z$-factors and the possible ways of addressing them in the future.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Nucleon axial form factors using lattice QCD simulations with a physical value of the pion mass

We present results on the nucleon axial and induced pseudo-scalar form factors using an ensemble of two degenerate twisted mass clover-improved fermions generated at the physical value of the pion mass. We evaluate the isovector and the isoscalar, as well as, the strange and the charm axial form factors. The disconnected contributions are evaluated using recently developed methods that include deflation of the lower eigenstates, allowing us to extract the isoscalar, strange and charm axial form factors. We find that the disconnected quark loop contributions are non-zero and particularly large for the induced pseudo-scalar form factor.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

A complete non-perturbative renormalization prescription for quasi-PDFs

In this work we present, for the first time, the non-perturbative renormalization for the unpolarized, helicity and transversity quasi-PDFs, in an RI' scheme. The proposed prescription addresses simultaneously all aspects of renormalization: logarithmic divergences, finite renormalization as well as the linear divergence which is present in the matrix elements of fermion operators with Wilson lines. Furthermore, for the case of the unpolarized quasi-PDFs, we describe how to eliminate the unwanted mixing with the twist-3 scalar operator. We utilize perturbation theory for the one-loop conversion factor that brings the renormalization functions to the MS-scheme at a scale of 2 GeV. We also explain how to improve the estimates on the renormalization functions by eliminating lattice artifacts. The latter can be computed in one-loop perturbation theory and to all orders in the lattice spacing. We apply the methodology for the renormalization to an ensemble of twisted mass fermions with Nf=2+1+1 dynamical light quarks, and a pion mass of around 375 MeV.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Nucleon electromagnetic form factors using lattice simulations at the physical point

We present results for the nucleon electromagnetic form factors using an ensemble of maximally twisted mass clover-improved fermions with pion mass of about 130 MeV. We use multiple sink-source separations and three analysis methods to probe ground-state dominance. We evaluate both the connected and disconnected contributions to the nucleon matrix elements. We find that the disconnected quark loop contributions to the isoscalar matrix elements are small, giving an upper bound of up to 2$\%$ of the connected contribution and smaller than its statistical error. We present results for the isovector and isoscalar electric and magnetic Sachs form factors and the corresponding proton and neutron form factors. By fitting the momentum dependence of the form factors to a dipole form or to the z-expansion we extract the nucleon electric and magnetic radii, as well as, the magnetic moment. We compare our results to experiment as well as to other recent lattice QCD calculations.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Topological susceptibility from twisted mass fermions using spectral projectors and the gradient flow

We compare lattice QCD determinations of topological susceptibility using a gluonic definition from the gradient flow and a fermionic definition from the spectral projector method. We use ensembles with dynamical light, strange and charm flavors of maximally twisted mass fermions. For both definitions of the susceptibility we employ ensembles at three values of the lattice spacing and several quark masses at each spacing. The data are fitted to chiral perturbation theory predictions with a discretization term to determine the continuum chiral condensate in the massless limit and estimate the overall discretization errors. We find that both approaches lead to compatible results in the continuum limit, but the gluonic ones are much more affected by cut-off effects. This finally yields a much smaller total error in the spectral projector results. We show that there exists, in principle, a value of the spectral cutoff which would completely eliminate discretization effects in the topological susceptibility.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Gluon momentum fraction of the nucleon from lattice QCD

We perform a direct calculation of the gluon momentum fraction of the nucleon using maximally twisted mass fermion ensembles with $N_f=2+1+1$ flavors at a pion mass of about $370\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and a lattice spacing of $a\approx 0.082\,\mathrm{fm}$ and with $N_f=2$ flavors at the physical pion mass and a lattice spacing of $a\approx 0.093\,\mathrm{fm}$. In the definition of the gluon operator we employ stout smearing to obtain a statistically significant result for the bare matrix elements. In addition, we perform a lattice perturbative calculation including 2 levels of stout smearing to carry out the mixing and the renormalization of the quark and gluon operators. We find, after conversion to the $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme at a scale of $2\,\mathrm{GeV}$: $\langle x\rangle^R_g {=} 0.284(23)(23)$ for pion mass of about $370\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $\langle x\rangle^R_g {=} 0.283(23)(15)$ for the physical pion mass.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

$P$-wave $ππ$ scattering and the $ρ$ resonance from lattice QCD

We calculate the parameters describing elastic $I=1$, $P$-wave $ππ$ scattering using lattice QCD with $2+1$ flavors of clover fermions. Our calculation is performed with a pion mass of $m_π\approx 320\:\:{\rm MeV}$ and a lattice size of $L\approx 3.6$ fm. We construct the two-point correlation matrices with both quark-antiquark and two-hadron interpolating fields using a combination of smeared forward, sequential and stochastic propagators. The spectra in all relevant irreducible representations for total momenta $|\vec{P}| \leq \sqrt{3} \frac{2π}{L}$ are extracted with two alternative methods: a variational analysis as well as multi-exponential matrix fits. We perform an analysis using Lüscher's formalism for the energies below the inelastic thresholds, and investigate several phase shift models, including possible nonresonant contributions. We find that our data are well described by the minimal Breit-Wigner form, with no statistically significant nonresonant component. In determining the $ρ$ resonance mass and coupling we compare two different approaches: fitting the individually extracted phase shifts versus fitting the $t$-matrix model directly to the energy spectrum. We find that both methods give consistent results, and at a pion mass of $am_π=0.18295(36)_{stat}$ obtain $g_{ρππ} = 5.69(13)_{stat}(16)_{sys}$, $am_ρ= 0.4609(16)_{stat}(14)_{sys}$, and $am_ρ/am_{N} = 0.7476(38)_{stat}(23)_{sys} $, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is the systematic uncertainty due to the choice of fit ranges.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2017

Updated Lattice Results for Parton Distributions

We provide an analysis of the x-dependence of the bare unpolarized, helicity and transversity iso-vector parton distribution functions (PDFs) from lattice calculations employing (maximally) twisted mass fermions. The x-dependence of the calculated PDFs resembles the one of the phenomenological parameterizations, a feature that makes this approach very promising. Furthermore, we apply momentum smearing for the relevant matrix elements to compute the lattice PDFs and find a large improvement factor when compared to conventional Gaussian smearing. This allows us to extend the lattice computation of the distributions to higher values of the nucleon momentum, which is essential for the prospects of a reliable extraction of the PDFs in the future.

hep-lat↗