Lattice QCD with mixed actions

We discuss some of the implications of simulating QCD when the action used for the sea quarks is different from that used for the valence quarks. We present exploratory results for the hadron mass spectrum and pseudoscalar meson decay constants using improved staggered sea quarks and HYP-smeared overlap valence quarks. We propose a method for matching the valence quark mass to the sea quark mass and demonstrate it on UKQCD clover data in the simpler case where the sea and valence actions are the same.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures some minor modification to text and figures. Accepted for publicatio

Light hadron spectroscopy with O(a) improved dynamical fermions

We present the first results for the static quark potential and the light hadron spectrum using dynamical fermions at $\beta=5.2$ using an O(a) improved Wilson fermion action together with the standard Wilson plaquette action for the gauge part. Sea quark masses were chosen such that the pseudoscalar-vector mass ratio, m_PS/m_V$, varies from 0.86 to 0.67. Finite-size effects are studied by using three different volumes, 8^3\cdot 24, 12^3\cdot 24 and 16^3\cdot 24. Comparing our results to previous ones obtained using the quenched approximation, we find evidence for sea quark effects in quantities like the static quark potential and the vector-pseudoscalar hyperfine splitting.Comment: 38 pages, 14 Postscript figure, LaTe

Current Renormalisation Constants with an O(a)-improved Fermion Action

Using chiral Ward identities, we determine the renormalisation constants of bilinear quark operators for the Sheikholeslami-Wohlert action lattice at beta=6.2. The results are obtained with a high degree of accuracy. For the vector current renormalisation constant we obtain Z_V=0.817(2)(8), where the first error is statistical and the second is due to mass dependence of Z_V. This is close to the perturbative value of 0.83. For the axial current renormalisation constant we obtain Z_A = 1.045(+10 -14), significantly higher than the value obtained in perturbation theory. This is shown to reduce the difference between lattice estimates and the experimental values for the pseudoscalar meson decay constants, but a significant discrepancy remains. The ratio of pseudoscalar to scalar renormalisation constants, Z_P/Z_S, is less well determined, but seems to be slightly lower than the perturbative value.Comment: 8 pages uuencoded compressed postscript file. Article to be submitted to Phys.Rev.

The Hyperfine Splitting in Charmonium: Lattice Computations Using the Wilson and Clover Fermion Actions

We compute the hyperfine splitting $m_{J/\psi}-m_{\eta_c}$ on the lattice, using both the Wilson and $O(a)$-improved (clover) actions for quenched quarks. The computations are performed on a $24^3\times48$ lattice at $\beta = 6.2$, using the same set of 18 gluon configurations for both fermion actions. We find that the splitting is 1.83\err{13}{15} times larger with the clover action than with the Wilson action, demonstrating the sensitivity of the spin-splitting to the magnetic moment term which is present in the clover action. However, even with the clover action the result is less than half of the physical mass-splitting. We also compute the decay constants $f_{\eta_c}$ and $f^{-1}_{J/\psi}$, both of which are considerably larger when computed using the clover action than with the Wilson action. For example for the ratio $f^{-1}_{J/\psi}/f^{-1}_{\rho}$ we find 0.32\err{1}{2} with the Wilson action and $0.48\pm 3$ with the clover action (the physical value is 0.44(2)).Comment: LaTeX file, 8 pages and two postscript figures. Southampton Preprint: SHEP 91/92-27 Edinburgh Preprint: 92/51

Light Hadron Spectrum in Quenched Lattice QCD with Staggered Quarks

Without chiral extrapolation, we achieved a realistic nucleon to (\rho)-meson mass ratio of (m_N/m_\rho = 1.23 \pm 0.04 ({\rm statistical}) \pm 0.02 ({\rm systematic})) in our quenched lattice QCD numerical calculation with staggered quarks. The systematic error is mostly from finite-volume effect and the finite-spacing effect is negligible. The flavor symmetry breaking in the pion and (\rho) meson is no longer visible. The lattice cutoff is set at 3.63 (\pm) 0.06 GeV, the spatial lattice volume is (2.59 (\pm) 0.05 fm)(^3), and bare quarks mass as low as 4.5 MeV are used. Possible quenched chiral effects in hadron mass are discussed.Comment: 5 pages and 5 figures, use revtex

The limits of social class in explaining ethnic gaps in educational attainment

This paper reports an analysis of the educational attainment and progress between age 11 and age 14 of over 14,500 students from the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE). The mean attainment gap in national tests at age 14 between White British and several ethnic minority groups were large, more than three times the size of the gender gap, but at the same time only about one-third of the size of the social class gap. Socio-economic variables could account for the attainment gaps for Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students, but not for Black Caribbean students. Further controls for parental and student attitudes, expectations and behaviours indicated minority ethnic groups were on average more advantaged on these measures than White British students, but this was not reflected proportionately in their levels of attainment. Black Caribbean students were distinctive as the only group making less progress than White British students between age 11 and 14 and this could not be accounted for by any of the measured contextual variables. Possible explanations for the White British-Black Caribbean gap are considered

Series Expansions for the Massive Schwinger Model in Hamiltonian lattice theory

It is shown that detailed and accurate information about the mass spectrum of the massive Schwinger model can be obtained using the technique of strong-coupling series expansions. Extended strong-coupling series for the energy eigenvalues are calculated, and extrapolated to the continuum limit by means of integrated differential approximants, which are matched onto a weak-coupling expansion. The numerical estimates are compared with exact results, and with finite-lattice results calculated for an equivalent lattice spin model with long-range interactions. Both the heavy fermion and the light fermion limits of the model are explored in some detail.Comment: RevTeX, 10 figures, add one more referenc

Quenched QCD with O(a) improvement: I. The spectrum of light hadrons

We present a comprehensive study of the masses of pseudoscalar and vector mesons, as well as octet and decuplet baryons computed in O(a) improved quenched lattice QCD. Results have been obtained using the non-perturbative definition of the improvement coefficient c_sw, and also its estimate in tadpole improved perturbation theory. We investigate effects of improvement on the incidence of exceptional configurations, mass splittings and the parameter J. By combining the results obtained using non-perturbative and tadpole improvement in a simultaneous continuum extrapolation we can compare our spectral data to experiment. We confirm earlier findings by the CP-PACS Collaboration that the quenched light hadron spectrum agrees with experiment at the 10% level.Comment: 36 pages, 7 postscript figures, REVTEX; typo in Table XVIII corrected; extended discussion of finite-size effects in sections III and VII; version to appear in Phys. Rev.