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Stephen R. Sharpe

Publications and source records attributed to Stephen R. Sharpe.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
arXiv2009

Determination of $B_K$ using improved staggered fermions (III) Finite volume effects

We study the finite-volume effects in our calculation of $B_K$ using HYP-smeared improved staggered valence fermions. We calculate the predictions of both SU(3) and SU(2) staggered chiral perturbation theory at one-loop order. We compare these to the results of a direct calculation, using MILC coarse lattices with two different volumes: $20^3$ and $28^3$. From the direct calculation, we find that the finite volume effect is $\approx 2%$ for the SU(3) analysis and $\approx 0.9%$ for the SU(2) analysis. We also show how the statistical error depends on the number of measurements made per configuration, and make a first study of autocorrelations.

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arXiv2009

One loop matching factors for staggered bilinear operators with improved glue

We present results for matching factors for bilinear operators composed of HYP-smeared staggered fermions and constructed using HYP-smeared fat links. The matching factors are calculated perturbatively at one-loop order. The new feature of our calculation compared to previous work on HYP-smeared staggered fermions is the use of the Symanzik-improved gluon propagator, which allows our results to be applied to our ongoing simulations based on configurations generated by the MILC collaboration. We address the issue of the relative efficiency of various improvement schemes in reducing one-loop corrections to the matching factors.

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arXiv2009

Non-perturbative volume-reduction of large-N QCD with adjoint fermions

We use nonperturbative lattice techniques to study the volume-reduced "Eguchi-Kawai" version of four-dimensional large-N QCD with a single adjoint Dirac fermion. We explore the phase diagram of this single-site theory in the space of quark mass and gauge coupling using Wilson fermions for a number of colors in the range 8 <= N <= 15. Our evidence suggests that these values of N are large enough to determine the nature of the phase diagram for N-->oo. We identify the region in the parameter space where the (Z_N)^4 center-symmetry is intact. According to previous theoretical work using the orbifolding paradigm, and assuming that translation invariance is not spontaneously broken in the infinite-volume theory, in this region volume reduction holds: the single-site and infinite-volume theories become equivalent when N-->oo. We find strong evidence that this region includes both light and heavy quarks (with masses that are at the cutoff scale), and our results are consistent with this region extending towards the continuum limit. We also compare the action density and the eigenvalue density of the overlap Dirac operator in the fundamental representation with those obtained in large-N pure-gauge theory.

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arXiv2009

The vector and axial currents in Wilson chiral perturbation theory

We reconsider the construction and matching of the vector and axial currents in Wilson Chiral Perturbation Theory (WChPT), the low-energy effective theory for lattice QCD with Wilson fermions. In particular, we discuss in detail the impact of the finite renormalization of the currents on their matching from the lattice theory to WChPT.We explicitly show that imposing chiral Ward-Takahashi identities on the currents leads, in general, to additional terms of O(a) in the axial current. We illustrate the impact on physical quantities by computing the pion decay constant to one-loop order in the two flavor theory. Our result differs from previously published ones.

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arXiv2009

Volume independence of large-N QCD with adjoint fermions

It has been proposed that four-dimensional QCD with fermions in the adjoint representation exhibits volume-independence in the large-N limit. If correct, this would mean that results for physical quantities could be obtained from the single-site version of the model. A necessary condition for volume-independence is that the (Z_N)^4 center-symmetry of the single-site theory is unbroken. We explore the phase diagram of the theory with a single Dirac fermion using Wilson fermions for a number of colors in the range N=8-15, and identify the region in the parameter space of quark mass and gauge coupling where the symmetry appears to be unbroken. Our evidence suggests that this region includes both light and heavy quarks, and our results are consistent with this region extending to the continuum limit.

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arXiv2009

Vector and Axial Currents in Wilson Chiral Perturbation Theory

We reconsider the construction of the vector and axial-vector currents in Wilson Chiral Perturbation Theory (WChPT), the low-energy effective theory for lattice QCD with Wilson fermions. We discuss in detail the finite renormalization of the currents that has to be taken into account in order to properly match the currents. We explicitly show that imposing the chiral Ward identities on the currents does, in general, affect the axial-vector current at O(a). As an application of our results we compute the pion decay constant to one loop in the two flavor theory. Our result differs from previously published ones.

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arXiv2009

On the consistency of the Aoki-phase

Lattice QCD with two flavors of Wilson fermions can exhibit spontaneous breaking of flavor and parity, with the resulting "Aoki phase" characterized by the non-zero expectation value $<\barψγ_5 τ_3 ψ>\ne0$. This phenomenon can be understood using the chiral effective theory appropriate to the Symanzik effective action. Within this standard analysis, the flavor-singlet pseudoscalar expectation value vanishes: $ =0$. A recent reanalysis has questioned this understanding, arguing that either the Aoki-phase is unphysical, or that there are additional phases in which $ \ne0$. The reanalysis uses the properties of probability distribution functions for observables built of fermion fields and expansions in terms of the eigenvalues of the hermitian Wilson-Dirac operator. Here I show that the standard understanding of the Aoki-phase is, in fact, consistent with the approach used in the reanalysis. Furthermore, if one assumes that the standard understanding is correct, one can use the methods of the reanalysis to derive lattice generalizations of the continuum sum rules of Leutwyler and Smilga.

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arXiv2008

Breakdown of large-N reduction in the quenched Eguchi-Kawai model

We study the validity of the large-N equivalence between four-dimensional SU(N) lattice gauge theory and its momentum quenched version -- the Quenched Eguchi-Kawai (QEK) model. We have found strong evidence that this equivalence does not hold in the weak-coupling regime (and thus in the continuum limit). This is based on weak-coupling analytic arguments and Monto-Carlo simulations at intermediate couplings with 20 <= N <= 200. Since detailed expositions of our arguments, methods and results have already appeared in Phys. Rev. D78:034507 (2008) and Phys. Rev. D78:074503 (2008), we attempt here to give a more intuitive explanation of our results. The breakdown of reduction that we find is due to a dynamically generated correlation between different Euclidean components of the gauge fields.

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arXiv2008

Applying the Wang-Landau Algorithm to Lattice Gauge Theory

We implement the Wang-Landau algorithm in the context of SU(N) lattice gauge theories. We study the quenched, reduced version of the lattice theory and calculate its density of states for N=20,30,40,50. We introduce a variant of the original algorithm in which the weight function used in the update does not asymptote to a fixed function, but rather continues to have small fluctuations which enhance tunneling. We formulate a method to evaluate the errors in the density of states, and use the result to calculate the dependence of the average action density and the specific heat on the `t Hooft coupling lambda. This allows us to locate the coupling lambda_t at which a strongly first order transition occurs in the system. For N=20 and 30 we compare our results to those obtained using Ferrenberg-Swendsen multi-histogram reweighting and find agreement with errors of 0.2 % or less. Extrapolating our results to N=oo we find 1/lambda_t = 0.3148(2). We remark on the significance of this result for the validity of quenched large-$N$ reduction of SU(N) lattice gauge theories.

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arXiv2008

Scaling behavior and sea quark dependence of pion spectrum with HYP-smeared staggered fermions

We study the pion spectrum (and in particular taste-symmetry breaking within it) using HYP-smeared valence staggered fermions on the coarse and fine MILC lattices (which have asqtad staggered sea quarks). We focus on the dependence on lattice spacing and sea-quark mass. We also update our results on source dependence. Our main conclusion is that on the MILC fine lattices the appropriate power-counting for SU(3) staggered chiral perturbation theory may have discretization errors entering at next-to-leading order rather than at leading-order.

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arXiv2008

Calculating $B_K$ using HYP staggered fermions

We give an update on our calculation of $B_K$ using HYP-smeared valence staggered quarks. We have results for $B_K$ at tree-level on several coarse MILC lattices ($a\approx 0.12 $fm) and one of the fine lattices ($a\approx 0.09 $fm), using 10 light valence quarks ranging down to $m_s^{\rm phys}/10$. We have generalized staggered chiral perturbation theory to our mixed action setup, and outline the results. We explain our present fitting strategy, and give some preliminary results.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2008

Breakdown of large-N quenched reduction in SU(N) lattice gauge theories

We study the validity of the large-N equivalence between four-dimensional SU(N) lattice gauge theory and its momentum quenched version--the Quenched Eguchi-Kawai (QEK) model. We find that the assumptions needed for the proofs of equivalence do not automatically follow from the quenching prescription. We use weak-coupling arguments to show that large-N equivalence is in fact likely to break down in the QEK model, and that this is due to dynamically generated correlations between different Euclidean components of the gauge fields. We then use Monte-Carlo simulations at intermediate couplings with 20 <= N <= 200 to provide strong evidence for the presence of these correlations and for the consequent breakdown of reduction. This evidence includes a large discrepancy between the transition coupling of the "bulk" transition in lattice gauge theories and the coupling at which the QEK model goes through a strongly first-order transition. To accurately measure this discrepancy we adapt the recently introduced Wang-Landau algorithm to gauge theories.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2008

Taste symmetry breaking with HYP-smeared staggered fermions

We study the impact of hypercubic (HYP) smearing on the size of taste breaking for staggered fermions, comparing to unimproved and to asqtad-improved staggered fermions. As in previous studies, we find a substantial reduction in taste-breaking compared to unimproved staggered fermions (by a factor of 4-7 on lattices with spacing $a\approx 0.1 $fm). In addition, we observe that discretization effects of next-to-leading order in the chiral expansion (${\cal O}(a^2 p^2)$) are markedly reduced by HYP smearing. Compared to asqtad valence fermions, we find that taste-breaking in the pion spectrum is reduced by a factor of 2.5-3, down to a level comparable to the expected size of generic ${\cal O}(a^2)$ effects. Our results suggest that, once one reaches a lattice spacing of $a\approx 0.09 $fm, taste-breaking will be small enough after HYP smearing that one can use a modified power counting in which ${\cal O}(a^2) \ll {\cal O}(p^2)$, simplify fitting to phenomenologically interesting quantities.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2008

$B_K$ in unquenched QCD using improved staggered fermions

We present preliminary results for $B_K$ calculated using improved staggered fermions with a mixed action (HYP-smeared staggered valence quarks and AsqTad staggered sea quarks). We investigate the effect of non-degenerate quarks on $B_K$ and attempt to estimate the ${\cal O}(a^2)$ effect due to non-Goldstone pions in loops. We fit the data to continuum partially quenched chiral perturbation theory. We find that the quality of fit for $B_K$ improves if we include non-degenerate quark mass combinations. We also observe, however, that the fitting curve deviates from the data points in the light quark mass region. This may indicate the need to include taste-breaking in pion loops.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2007

Improvement of the pion spectrum with HYP-smeared staggered fermions

We extend our previous study of taste-symmetry breaking using HYP-smeared staggered fermions in two ways. First, we improve the statistics of a comparison of unimproved and HYP-smeared staggered fermions on quenched lattices with $a\approx 0.1 $fm. This allows us to obtain a signal for all pion tastes, rather than just a subset, and thus to make a complete comparison. In addition, it allows us to differentiate between wall and local sources. Second, we compare HYP-smeared valence quarks to asqtad valence quarks on 2+1 flavor unquenched MILC lattices. We find that taste breaking is substantially reduced by HYP-smearing, bringing the size of this discretization effect (which is the dominant such effect with staggered fermions) down to the size expected generically for any fermion type.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2007

Future of Chiral Extrapolations with Domain Wall Fermions

I discuss the constraints on the lattice spacing, a, the quark masses, m, the box size, L, and particularly the residual mass, m_res, such that one can successfully calculate phenomenologically interesting quantities using Domain Wall fermions (DWF). The constraints on a, m, and L are largely common with other improved fermion discretizations, and I emphasize that the improved chiral symmetry of DWF does not remove the need for simulations with a significant range of lattice parameters. Concerning m_res, I compare the analysis of chiral symmetry breaking to that with Wilson fermions, emphasizing that DWF are better than simply Wilson fermions with each chiral symmetry breaking effect reduced by a common factor. I then discuss the impact of non-zero m_res both on generic hadronic quantities, and on matrix elements which involve mixing with lower dimension operators.

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