arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E. Pallante.
We discuss the phases of QCD in the parameter space spanned by the number of light flavours and the temperature with respect to the realisation of chiral and conformal symmetries. The intriguing interplay of these symmetries is best studied by means of lattice simulations, and some selected results from our recent work are presented here.
We discuss our results on QCD with a number of fundamental fermions ranging from zero to sixteen. These theories exhibit a wide array of fascinating phenomena which have been under close scrutiny, especially in recent years, first and foremost is the approach to conformality. To keep this review focused, we have chosen scale generation, or lack thereof as a guiding theme, however the discussion will be set in the general framework of the analysis of the phases and phase transitions of strong interactions at zero and nonzero temperature.
We study the SU(3) gauge theory with twelve flavours of fermions in the fundamental representation as a prototype of non-Abelian gauge theories inside the conformal window. Guided by the pattern of underlying symmetries, chiral and conformal, we analyze the two-point functions theoretically and on the lattice, and determine the finite size scaling and the infinite volume fermion mass dependence of the would-be hadron masses. We show that the spectrum in the Coulomb phase of the system can be described in the context of a universal scaling analysis and we provide the nonperturbative determination of the fermion mass anomalous dimension gamma*=0.235(46) at the infrared fixed point. We comment on the agreement with the four-loop perturbative prediction for this quantity and we provide a unified description of all existing lattice results for the spectrum of this system, them being in the Coulomb phase or the asymptotically free phase. Our results corroborate the view that the fixed point we are studying is not associated to a physical singularity along the bare coupling line and estimates of physical observables can be attempted on either side of the fixed point. Finally, we observe the restoration of the U(1) axial symmetry in the two-point functions.
We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly-coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.
This note is based on our recent results on QCD with varying number of flavors of fundamental fermions. Topics include unusual, strong dynamics in the preconformal, confining phase, the physics of the conformal window and the role of ab-initio lattice simulations in establishing our current knowledge of the phases of many flavor QCD
We present preliminary results of the non-perturbative computation of the RI-MOM renormalisation constants in a mass-independent scheme for the action with Iwasaki glue and four dynamical Wilson quarks employed by ETMC. Our project requires dedicated gauge ensembles with four degenerate sea quark flavours at three lattice spacings and at several values of the standard and twisted quark mass parameters. The RI-MOM renormalisation constants are obtained from appropriate O(a) improved estimators extrapolated to the chiral limit.
We propose a spontaneous A4 flavor symmetry breaking scheme implemented in a warped extra dimensional setup to explain the observed pattern of quark and lepton masses and mixings. The main advantages of this choice are the explanation of fermion mass hierarchies by wave function overlaps, the emergence of tribimaximal neutrino mixing and zero quark mixing at the leading order and the absence of tree-level gauge mediated flavor violations. Quark mixing is induced by the presence of bulk flavons, which allow for cross-brane interactions and a cross-talk between the quark and neutrino sectors, realizing the spontaneous symmetry breaking pattern A4 --> nothing first proposed in [X.G.\,He, Y.Y.\,Keum, R.R.\,Volkas, JHEP{0604}, 039 (2006)]. We show that the observed quark mixing pattern can be explained in a rather economical way, including the CP violating phase, with leading order cross-interactions, while the observed difference between the smallest CKM entries V_{ub} and V_{td} must arise from higher order corrections. We briefly discuss bounds on the Kaluza-Klein scale implied by flavor changing neutral current processes in our model and show that the residual little CP problem is milder than in flavor anarchic models.
We present results of lattice QCD simulations with mass-degenerate up and down and mass-split strange and charm (Nf=2+1+1) dynamical quarks using Wilson twisted mass fermions at maximal twist. The tuning of the strange and charm quark masses is performed at three values of the lattice spacing a~0.06 fm, a~0.08 fm and a~0.09 fm with lattice sizes ranging from L~1.9 fm to L~3.9 fm. We perform a preliminary study of SU(2) chiral perturbation theory by combining our lattice data from these three values of the lattice spacing.
We study QCD with twelve light flavors at intermediate values of the bare lattice coupling. We contrast the results for the order parameter with different theoretical models motivated by the physics of the Goldstone phase and of the symmetric phase, and we perform a model independent analysis of the meson spectrum inspired by universal properties of chiral symmetry. Our analysis favors chiral symmetry restoration.
We discuss the existence of a conformal phase in SU(N) gauge theories in four dimensions. In this lattice study we explore the model in the bare parameter space, varying the lattice coupling and bare mass. Simulations are carried out with three colors and twelve flavors of dynamical staggered fermions in the fundamental representation. The analysis of the chiral order parameter and the mass spectrum of the theory indicates the restoration of chiral symmetry at zero temperature and the presence of a Coulomb-like phase, depicting a scenario compatible with the existence of an infrared stable fixed point at nonzero coupling. Our analysis supports the conclusion that the onset of the conformal window for QCD-like theories is smaller than Nf=12, before the loss of asymptotic freedom at sixteen and a half flavors. We discuss open questions and future directions.
We review some recent progress in our understanding of the phase diagram of non abelian gauge theories, by varying their flavor content -- fermion representations and the number of flavors. In particular, we explore the way conformal symmetry can be restored before the loss of asymptotic freedom, and through a subtle interplay of perturbation theory, chiral dynamics and confining forces. It is with the combination of numerical lattice studies and theoretical insights into gauge theories with and without supersymmetry that we may successfully attempt to clarify the missing pieces of this puzzle.
We present first results from runs performed with Nf=2+1+1 flavours of dynamical twisted mass fermions at maximal twist: a degenerate light doublet and a mass split heavy doublet. An overview of the input parameters and tuning status of our ensembles is given, together with a comparison with results obtained with Nf=2 flavours. The problem of extracting the mass of the K- and D-mesons is discussed, and the tuning of the strange and charm quark masses examined. Finally we compare two methods of extracting the lattice spacings to check the consistency of our data and we present some first results of ChiPT fits in the light meson sector.
We present results on the mass of the baryon octet and decuplet using two flavors of light dynamical twisted mass fermions. The strange quark mass is fixed to its physical value from the kaon sector in a partially quenched set up. Calculations are performed for light quark masses corresponding to a pion mass in the range 270-500 MeV and lattice sizes of 2.1 fm and 2.7 fm. We check for cut-off effects and isospin breaking by evaluating the baryon masses at two different lattice spacings. We carry out a chiral extrapolation for the octet baryons and discuss results for the Omega.
Undeniably, the imminent activity of LHC and the quest for the nature of physics beyond the standard model have raised renewed interest in the conformal and quasi-conformal behaviour of gauge field theories with matter content. Theoretically driven questions seem to now acquire a strong experimental appeal and might guide us towards a more realistic string theory to field theory connection, originally inspired by the AdS/CFT conjecture. In this brief report, we discuss the state of the art of our search for the conformal window in the SU(3) colour-gauge theory with fermions in the fundamental representation.
A round table held during the Hadron07 Conference focusing on experimental observations of new hadronic states, on theoretical perspectives for their description, and on the role of hadronic spectroscopy in furthering our knowledge of the fundamental theory of strong interactions.
The transformation properties of strong penguin operators under the action of the flavor group change when they are considered as operators in (partially) quenched QCD instead of the unquenched theory. As a result, additional operators and new low-energy constants appear in the effective theory describing non-leptonic kaon decay matrix elements in the partially quenched setting. These new low-energy constants do not have a counterpart in the unquenched theory, and should thus be considered as an artifact of the quenched approximation. Here we consider strong penguin operators consisting of products of two left-handed flavor currents, and give a complete one-loop analysis in the effective theory for K^0 to vacuum and K^+ to pi^+ matrix elements. We find that the new low-energy constants already appear in these matrix elements at leading order. This implies that (partially) quenched lattice computations of for instance the Delta I=1/2 rule are affected by ambiguities intrinsic to the use of the quenched approximation at leading order. The only exception is the partially quenched case with three light sea quarks, consistent with general expectations. Our results are also relevant when the charm quark is kept in the theory.
We present a study of the finite-volume two-pion matrix elements and correlation functions of the I=0 scalar operator, in full and partially quenched QCD, at one-loop order in chiral perturbation theory. In partially quenched QCD, when the sea and valence light quark masses are not equal, the lack of unitarity leads to the same inconsistencies as in quenched QCD and the matrix elements cannot be determined. It is possible, however, to overcome this problem by requiring the masses of the valence and sea quarks to be equal for the u and d quarks while keeping the strange quark (s) quenched (or partially quenched), but only in the kinematic region where the two-pion energy is below the two-kaon threshold. Although our results are obtained at NLO in chiral perturbation theory, they are more general and are also valid for non-leptonic kaon decays (we also study the matrix elements of (8,1) operators, such as the QCD penguin operator Q6). We point out that even in full QCD, where any problems caused by the lack of unitarity are clearly absent, there are practical difficulties in general, caused by the fact that finite-volume energy eigenstates are linear combination of two-pion, two-kaon and two-eta states. Our work implies that extracting Delta I=1/2, K-->pipi decay amplitudes from simulations with m_s=m_{d,u} is not possible in partially quenched QCD (and is very difficult in full QCD).
Recently, we pointed out that chiral transformation properties of strong penguin operators change in the transition from unquenched to (partially) quenched QCD. As a consequence, new penguin-like operators appear in the (partially) quenched theory, along with new low-energy constants, which should be interpreted as a quenching artifact. Here, we extend the analysis to the contribution of the new low-energy constants to the K^0 -> pi^+ pi^- amplitude, at leading order in chiral perturbation theory, and for arbitrary (momentum non-conserving) kinematics. Using these results, we provide a detailed discussion of the intrinsic systematic error due to this (partial) quenching artifact. We also give a simple recipe for the determination of the leading-order low-energy constant parameterizing the new operators in the case of strong $LR$ penguins.