How To Fix Non-Perturbatively A Parameter Dependent Covariant Gauge On The Lattice

We describe how to overcome some problems that usually prevent from obtaining an efficient algorithm to fix a generic covariant gauge on the lattice. This gauge is the lattice equivalent of the generic gauge usually adopted in perturbative calculations. It depends on a parameter whose value can be varied in order to check the gauge dependence of measured matrix elements.Comment: 3 pages, 2 eps figures, LATTICE 9

Quark and Gluon Propagators in Covariant Gauges

We present data for the gluon and quark propagators computed in the standard lattice Landau's gauge and for three values of the covariant gauge-fixing parameter lambda=0,8,16. Our results are obtained using the SU(3) Wilson action in the quenched approximation at beta=6.0 and volume=16^3x32.Comment: Lattice2001(theorydevelop

Finite-size scaling for the left-current correlator with non-degenerate quark masses

We study the volume dependence of the left-current correlator with non-degenerate quark masses to next-to-leading order in the chiral expansion. We consider three possible regimes: all quark masses are in the $\epsilon$-regime, all are in the $p$-regime and a mixed-regime where the lighest quark masses satisfy $m_v \Sigma V \leq 1$ while the heavier $m_s \Sigma V \gg 1$. These results can be used to match lattice QCD and the Chiral Effective Theory in a large but finite box in which the Compton wavelength of the lightest pions is of the order of the box size. We consider both the full and partially-quenched results.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figure

Spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in QCD:a finite-size scaling study on the lattice

Spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in QCD with massless quarks at infinite volume can be seen in a finite box by studying, for instance, the dependence of the chiral condensate from the volume and the quark mass. We perform a feasibility study of this program by computing the quark condensate on the lattice in the quenched approximation of QCD at small quark masses. We carry out simulations in various topological sectors of the theory at several volumes, quark masses and lattice spacings by employing fermions with an exact chiral symmetry, and we focus on observables which are infrared stable and free from mass-dependent ultraviolet divergences. The numerical calculation is carried out with an exact variance-reduction technique, which is designed to be particularly efficient when spontaneous symmetry breaking is at work in generating a few very small low-lying eigenvalues of the Dirac operator. The finite-size scaling behaviour of the condensate in the topological sectors considered agrees, within our statistical accuracy, with the expectations of the chiral effective theory. Close to the chiral limit we observe a detailed agreement with the first Leutwyler-Smilga sum rule. By comparing the mass, the volume and the topology dependence of our results with the predictions of the chiral effective theory, we extract the corresponding low-energy constant.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure

Numerical Exploration of the RI/MOM Scheme Gauge Dependence

The gauge dependence of some fermion bilinear RI/MOM renormalization constants is studied by comparing data which have been gauge-fixed in two different realizations of the Landau gauge and in a generic covariant gauge. The very good agreement between the various sets of results and the theory indicates that the numerical uncertainty induced by the lattice gauge-fixing procedure is below the statistical errors of our data sample which is of the order of (1-1.5)%.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, Lattice2002(theoretical

Topological susceptibility in the SU(3) gauge theory

We compute the topological susceptibility for the SU(3) Yang--Mills theory by employing the expression of the topological charge density operator suggested by Neuberger's fermions. In the continuum limit we find r_0^4 chi = 0.059(3), which corresponds to chi=(191 +/- 5 MeV)^4 if F_K is used to set the scale. Our result supports the Witten--Veneziano explanation for the large mass of the eta'.Comment: Final version to appear on Phys. Rev. Let

On the Definition of Gauge Field Operators in Lattice Gauge-Fixed Theories

We address the problem of defining the gauge four-potential on the lattice, in terms of the natural link variables. Different regularized definitions are shown, through non perturbative numerical computation, to converge towards the same continuum renormalized limit.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX2e/LaTeX209, 3 eps figure

Finite size scaling of meson propagators with isospin chemical potential

We determine the volume and mass dependence of scalar and pseudoscalar two-point functions in N_f-flavour QCD, in the presence of an isospin chemical potential and at fixed gauge-field topology. We obtain these results at second order in the \epsilon-expansion of Chiral Perturbation Theory and evaluate all relevant zero-mode group integrals analytically. The virtue of working with a non-vanishing chemical potential is that it provides the correlation functions with a dependence on both the chiral condensate, \Sigma, and the pion decay constant, F, already at leading order. Our results may therefore be useful for improving the determination of these constants from lattice QCD calculations. As a side product, we rectify an earlier calculation of the O(\epsilon^2) finite-volume correction to the decay constant appearing in the partition function. We also compute a generalised partition function which is useful for evaluating U(N_f) group integrals