Two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory: perturbative and instanton contributions, and its relation to QCD in higher dimensions

Two different scenarios (light-front and equal-time) are possible for Yang-Mills theories in two dimensions. The exact $\bar q q$-potential can be derived in perturbation theory starting from the light-front vacuum, but requires essential instanton contributions in the equal-time formulation. In higher dimensions no exact result is available and, paradoxically, only the latter formulation (equal-time) is acceptable, at least in a perturbative context.Comment: latex 10 pages, no figures. Plenary session talk at the Meeting ``Constrained dynamics and quantum gravity 99'', Villasimius (Sardinia-Italy) September 13-17, 1999; minor change

Infrared singularities in the null-plane bound-state equation when going to 1+1 dimensions

In this paper we first consider the null-plane bound-state equation for a $q \bar q$ pair in 1+3 dimensions and in the lowest-order Tamm-Dancoff approximation. Light-cone gauge is chosen with a causal prescription for the gauge pole in the propagator. Then we show that this equation, when dimensionally reduced to 1+1 dimensions, becomes 't Hooft's bound-state equation, which is characterized by an $x^+$-instantaneous interaction. The deep reasons for this coincidence are carefully discussed.Comment: 18 pages, revTeX, no figure

Two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory in the leading 1/N expansion revisited

We obtain a formal solution of an integral equation for $q\bar q$ bound states, depending on a parameter \eta which interpolates between 't Hooft's (\eta=0) and Wu's (\eta=1) equations. We also get an explicit approximate expression for its spectrum for a particular value of the ratio of the coupling constant to the quark mass. The spectrum turns out to be in qualitative agreement with 't Hooft's as long as \eta \neq 1. In the limit \eta=1 (Wu's case) the entire spectrum collapses to zero, in particular no rising Regge trajectories are found.Comment: CERN-TH/96-364, 13 pages, revTeX, no figure

Gauge Invariance and Anomalous Dimensions of a Light-Cone Wilson Loop in Light-Like Axial Gauge

Complete two-loop calculation of a dimensionally regularized Wilson loop with light-like segments is performed in the light-like axial gauge with the Mandelstam-Leibbrandt prescription for the gluon propagator. We find an expression which {\it exactly} coincides with the one previously obtained for the same Wilson loop in covariant Feynman gauge. The renormalization of Wilson loop is performed in the \MS-scheme using a general procedure tailored to the light-like axial gauge. We find that the renormalized Wilson loop obeys a renormalization group equation with the same anomalous dimensions as in covariant gauges. Physical implications of our result for investigation of infrared asymptotics of perturbative QCD are pointed out.Comment: 24 pages and 4 figures (included), LaTeX style, UFPD-93/TH/23, UPRF-93-366, UTF-93-29

Renormalization of gauge invariant composite operators in light-cone gauge

We generalize to composite operators concepts and techniques which have been successful in proving renormalization of the effective Action in light-cone gauge. Gauge invariant operators can be grouped into classes, closed under renormalization, which is matrix-wise. In spite of the presence of non-local counterterms, an ``effective" dimensional hierarchy still guarantees that any class is endowed with a finite number of elements. The main result we find is that gauge invariant operators under renormalization mix only among themselves, thanks to the very simple structure of Lee-Ward identities in this gauge, contrary to their behaviour in covariant gauges.Comment: 35100 Padova, Italy DFPD 93/TH/53, July 1993 documentstyle[preprint,aps]{revtex

1+1 Dimensional Yang-Mills Theories in Light-Cone Gauge

In 1+1 dimensions two different formulations exist of SU(N) Yang Mills theories in light-cone gauge; only one of them gives results which comply with the ones obtained in Feynman gauge. Moreover the theory, when considered in 1+(D-1) dimensions, looks discontinuous in the limit D=2. All those features are proven in Wilson loop calculations as well as in the study of the $q\bar q$ bound state integral equation in the large N limit.Comment: Invited report at the Workshop "Low Dimensional Field Theory", Telluride (CO), Aug. 5-17 1996; 16 pages, latex, no figures To appear in International Journal of Modern Physics A minor misprints correcte

Ghost decoupling in 't Hooft spectrum for mesons

We show that the replacement of the ``instantaneous'' 't Hooft's potential with the causal form suggested by equal time canonical quantization in light-cone gauge, which entails the occurrence of negative probability states, does not change the bound state spectrum when the difference is treated as a single insertion in the kernel.Comment: 7 pages, revtex, no figure

Two-dimensional QCD, instanton contributions and the perturbative Wu-Mandelstam-Leibbrandt prescription

The exact Wilson loop expression for the pure Yang-Mills U(N) theory on a sphere $S^2$ of radius $R$ exhibits, in the decompactification limit $R\to \infty$, the expected pure area exponentiation. This behaviour can be understood as due to the sum over all instanton sectors. If only the zero instanton sector is considered, in the decompactification limit one exactly recovers the sum of the perturbative series in which the light-cone gauge Yang-Mills propagator is prescribed according to Wu-Mandelstam-Leibbrandt. When instantons are disregarded, no pure area exponentiation occurs, the string tension is different and, in the large-N limit, confinement is lost.Comment: RevTex, 11 pages, two references adde

Anomalous dimensions and ghost decoupling in a perturbative approach to the generalized chiral Schwinger model

A generalized chiral Schwinger model is studied by means of perturbative techniques. Explicit expressions are obtained, both for bosonic and fermionic propagators, and compared to the ones derived by means of functional techniques. In particular a consistent recipe is proposed to describe the ambiguity occurring in the regularization of the fermionic determinant. The role of the gauge fixing term, which is needed to develop perturbation theory and the behaviour of the spectrum as a function of the parameters are clarified together with ultraviolet and infrared properties of the model.Comment: DFPD 94/TH/29, May 1994, 28 pages, Late