arXiv subjects

M. Laine

Publications and source records attributed to M. Laine.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Charm mass dependence of the weak Hamiltonian in chiral perturbation theory

Suppose that the weak interaction Hamiltonian of four-flavour SU(4) chiral effective theory is known, for a small charm quark mass m_c. We study how the weak Hamiltonian changes as the charm quark mass increases, by integrating it out within chiral perturbation theory to obtain a three-flavour SU(3) chiral theory. We find that the ratio of the SU(3) low-energy constants which mediate Delta I=1/2 and Delta I=3/2 transitions, increases rather rapidly with m_c, as \sim m_c ln (1/m_c). The logarithmic effect originates from "penguin-type" charm loops, and could represent one of the reasons for the Delta I=1/2 rule.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Correlation functions at small quark masses with overlap fermions

We report on recent work on the determination of low-energy constants describing Delta{S}=1 weak transitions, in order to investigate the origins of the Delta{I}=1/2 rule. We focus on numerical techniques designed to enhance the statistical signal in three-point correlation functions computed with overlap fermions near the chiral limit.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2004

Mesonic correlators in hot QCD

Certain spacelike mesonic correlation lengths serve as interesting theoretical probes for the reliability of perturbation theory in high-temperature QCD, are directly sensitive to chiral symmetry restoration and to the axial anomaly, and might also have indirect phenomenological signatures in idealised heavy ion collision experiments. I review here the weak-coupling predictions for some of these correlation lengths, to be compared with results from lattice Monte Carlo simulations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Duality and scaling in 3-dimensional scalar electrodynamics

Three-dimensional scalar electrodynamics, with a local U(1) gauge symmetry, is believed to be dual to a scalar theory with a global U(1) symmetry, near the phase transition point. The conjectured duality leads to definite predictions for the scaling exponents of the gauge theory transition in the type II region, and allows thus to be scrutinized empirically. We review these predictions, and carry out numerical lattice Monte Carlo measurements to test them: a number of exponents, characterising the two phases as well as the transition point, are found to agree with expectations, supporting the conjecture. We explain why some others, like the exponent characterising the photon correlation length, appear to disagree with expectations, unless very large system sizes and the extreme vicinity of the transition point are considered. Finally, we remark that in the type I region the duality implies an interesting quantitative relationship between a magnetic flux tube and a 2-dimensional non-topological soliton.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2004

Correlators of left charges and weak operators in finite volume chiral perturbation theory

We compute the two-point correlator between left-handed flavour charges, and the three-point correlator between two left-handed charges and one strangeness violating ΔI=3/2 weak operator, at next-to-leading order in finite volume SU(3)_L x SU(3)_R chiral perturbation theory, in the so-called epsilon-regime. Matching these results with the corresponding lattice measurements would in principle allow to extract the pion decay constant F, and the effective chiral theory parameter g_27, which determines the ΔI = 3/2 amplitude of the weak decays K to ππas well as the kaon mixing parameter B_K in the chiral limit. We repeat the calculations in the replica formulation of quenched chiral perturbation theory, finding only mild modifications. In particular, a properly chosen ratio of the three-point and two-point functions is shown to be identical in the full and quenched theories at this order.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2004

Effective gauge theories on domain walls via bulk confinement?

We study with lattice techniques the localisation of gauge fields on domain wall defects in 2+1 dimensions, following a scenario originally proposed by Dvali and Shifman for 3+1 dimensions, based on confining dynamics in the bulk. We find that a localised gauge zero-mode does exist, if the domain wall is wide enough compared with the confinement scale in the bulk. The range of applicability of the corresponding low-energy effective theory is determined by the mass gap to the higher modes. For a wide domain wall, this mass gap is set by ``Kaluza--Klein modes'' as determined by the width. It is pointed out that in this regime the dynamical energy scales generated by the interactions of the localised zero-modes are in fact higher than the mass gap. Therefore, at least in 2+1 dimensions, the zero-modes alone do not form a low-energy effective gauge theory of a traditional type. Finally, we discuss how the situation is expected to change in going to 3+1 dimensions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Low-energy couplings of QCD from current correlators near the chiral limit

We investigate a new numerical procedure to compute fermionic correlation functions at very small quark masses. Large statistical fluctuations, due to the presence of local ``bumps'' in the wave functions associated with the low-lying eigenmodes of the Dirac operator, are reduced by an exact low-mode averaging. To demonstrate the feasibility of the technique, we compute the two-point correlator of the left-handed vector current with Neuberger fermions in the quenched approximation, for lattices with a linear extent of L~1.5 fm, a lattice spacing a~0.09 fm, and quark masses down to the epsilon-regime. By matching the results with the corresponding (quenched) chiral perturbation theory expressions, an estimate of (quenched) low-energy constants can be obtained. We find agreement between the quenched values of F extrapolated from the p-regime and extracted in the epsilon-regime.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2004

Mesonic correlation lengths in high-temperature QCD

We consider spatial correlation lengths ξfor various QCD light quark bilinears at temperatures above a few hundred MeV. Some of the correlation lengths (such as that related to baryon density) coincide with what has been measured earlier on from glueball-like states; others do not couple to glueballs, and have a well-known perturbative leading-order expression as well as a computable next-to-leading-order correction. We determine the latter following analogies with the NRQCD effective theory, used for the study of heavy quarkonia at zero temperature: we find (for the quenched case) ξ^{-1} = 2 πT + 0.1408 g^2 T, and compare with lattice results. One manifestation of U_A(1) symmetry non-restoration is also pointed out.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Low-energy couplings of QCD from topological zero-mode wave functions

By matching 1/m^2 divergences in finite-volume two-point correlation functions of the scalar or pseudoscalar densities with those obtained in chiral perturbation theory, we derive a relation between the Dirac operator zero-mode eigenfunctions at fixed non-trivial topology and the low-energy constants of QCD. We investigate the feasibility of using this relation to extract the pion decay constant, by computing the zero-mode correlation functions on the lattice in the quenched approximation and comparing them with the corresponding expressions in quenched chiral perturbation theory.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2003

Vector and Axial-Vector Propagators in the ε-Regime of QCD

Using quenched and unquenched chiral perturbation theory we compute vector and axial current two-point functions at finite volume and fixed gauge field topology, in the so-called ε-regime of QCD. A comparison of these results with finite volume lattice calculations allows to determine the parameters of the corresponding chiral Lagrangians.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2003

Q-ball dynamics from atomic Bose-Einstein condensates

Relativistic scalar field theories with a conserved global charge Q possess often (meta)stable spherically symmetric soliton solutions, called Q-balls. We elaborate on the perfect formal analogy which exists between Q-balls, and spherically symmetric solitons in certain non-relativistic atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, for which the dominant interatomic interaction can be tuned attractive. In a harmonic trap, present in existing experiments, the Q-ball solution is modified in an essential way. If the trap is significantly prolongated in one direction, however, then genuine solitons do appear, and actual experimental data can be obtained for some of the Q-ball properties studied numerically in the relativistic cosmological context, such as their formation and collisions. We also suggest conditions under which the same cosmologically relevant analogies could be extended to the fully three-dimensional case.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2003

Four-loop vacuum energy density of the SU(N_c) + adjoint Higgs theory

We compute the dimensionally regularised four-loop vacuum energy density of the SU(N_c) gauge + adjoint Higgs theory, in the disordered phase. ``Scalarisation'', or reduction to a small set of master integrals of the type appearing in scalar field theories, is carried out in d dimensions, employing general partial integration identities through an algorithm developed by Laporta, while the remaining scalar integrals are evaluated in d = 3 - 2εdimensions, by expanding in ε<< 1 and evaluating a number of coefficients. The results have implications for the thermodynamics of finite temperature QCD, allowing to determine perturbative contributions of orders O(g^6 ln(1/g)), O(g^6) to the pressure, while the general methods are applicable also to studies of critical phenomena in QED-like statistical physics systems.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

The pressure of hot QCD up to g^6 ln(1/g)

The free energy density, or pressure, of QCD has at high temperatures an expansion in the coupling constant g, known so far up to order g^5. We compute here the last contribution which can be determined perturbatively, g^6 ln(1/g), by summing together results for the 4-loop vacuum energy densities of two different three-dimensional effective field theories. We also demonstrate that the inclusion of the new perturbative g^6 ln(1/g) terms, once they are summed together with the so far unknown perturbative and non-perturbative g^6 terms, could potentially extend the applicability of the coupling constant series down to surprisingly low temperatures.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Localisation and mass generation for non-Abelian gauge fields

It has been suggested recently that in the presence of suitably "warped" extra dimensions, the low-energy limit of pure gauge field theory may contain massive elementary vector bosons localised on a "brane", but no elementary Higgs scalars. We provide non-perturbative evidence in favour of this conjecture through numerical lattice measurements of the static quark-antiquark force of pure SU(2) gauge theory in three dimensions, of which one is warped. We consider also warpings leading to massless localised vector bosons, and again find evidence supporting the perturbative prediction, even though the gauge coupling diverges far from the brane in this case.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Finite-Size Scaling of Vector and Axial Current Correlators

Using quenched chiral perturbation theory, we compute the long-distance behaviour of two-point functions of flavour non-singlet axial and vector currents in a finite volume, for small quark masses, and at a fixed gauge-field topology. We also present the corresponding predictions for the unquenched theory at fixed topology. These results can in principle be used to measure the low-energy constants of the chiral Lagrangian, from lattice simulations in volumes much smaller than one pion Compton wavelength. We show that quenching has a dramatic effect on the vector correlator, which is argued to vanish to all orders, while the axial correlator appears to be a robust observable only moderately sensitive to quenching.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2003

What is the simplest effective approach to hot QCD thermodynamics?

The dimensionally reduced action is believed to provide for a theoretically consistent and numerically precise effective description of the thermodynamics of the quark-gluon plasma, once the temperature is above a few hundred MeV. Although dramatically simpler than the original QCD it is, however, still a strongly interacting, confining theory. In this talk I speculate on whether there could exist a further simplified recipe within that theory, for physically relevant temperatures, which would already lead to a phenomenologically satisfactory description of the free energy and various correlation lengths of hot QCD, but with only a minimal amount of numerical non-perturbative input needed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Finite temperature Z(N) phase transition with Kaluza-Klein gauge fields

If SU(N) gauge fields live in a world with a circular extra dimension, coupling there only to adjointly charged matter, the system possesses a global Z(N) symmetry. If the radius is small enough such that dimensional reduction takes place, this symmetry is spontaneously broken. It turns out that its fate at high temperatures is not easily decided with straightforward perturbation theory. Utilising non-perturbative lattice simulations, we demonstrate here that the symmetry does get restored at a certain temperature T_c, both for a 3+1 and a 4+1 dimensional world (the latter with a finite cutoff). To avoid a cosmological domain wall problem, such models would thus be allowed only if the reheating temperature after inflation is below T_c. We also comment on the robustness of this phenomenon with respect to small modifications of the model.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Four-loop logarithms in 3d gauge + Higgs theory

We discuss the logarithmic contributions to the vacuum energy density of the three-dimensional SU(3) + adjoint Higgs theory in its symmetric phase, and relate them to numerical Monte Carlo simulations. We also comment on the implications of these results for perturbative and non-perturbative determinations of the pressure of finite-temperature QCD.

hep-lat↗