Lattice QCD on a Beowulf Cluster

Using commodity component personal computers based on Alpha processor and commodity network devices and a switch, we built an 8-node parallel computer. GNU/Linux is chosen as an operating system and message passing libraries such as PVM, LAM, and MPICH have been tested as a parallel programming environment. We discuss our lattice QCD project for a heavy quark system on this computer.Comment: Lattice99 (algorithms and machines),3 pages, 3 figures, espcrc2.st

Studies of a thermally averaged p-wave Sommerfeld factor

Thermal pair annihilation of heavy particles, such as dark matter or its co-annihilation partners, can be strongly influenced by attractive interactions. We investigate the case that pair annihilation proceeds through a velocity-suppressed $p$-wave operator, in the presence of an SU(3) gauge force. Making use of a non-relativistic effective theory, the thermal average of the pair-annihilation rate is estimated both through a resummed perturbative computation and through lattice simulation, in the range $M/T \sim 10 ... 30$. Bound states contribute to the annihilation process and enhancement factors of up to $\sim 100$ can be found.Comment: 15 page

Rapid thermal co-annihilation through bound states in QCD

The co-annihilation rate of heavy particles close to thermal equilibrium, which plays a role in many classic dark matter scenarios, can be "simulated" in QCD by considering the pair annihilation rate of a heavy quark and antiquark at a temperature of a few hundred MeV. We show that the so-called Sommerfeld factors, parameterizing the rate, can be defined and measured non-perturbatively within the NRQCD framework. Lattice measurements indicate a modest suppression in the octet channel, in reasonable agreement with perturbation theory, and a large enhancement in the singlet channel, much above the perturbative prediction. The additional enhancement is suggested to originate from bound state formation and subsequent decay. Making use of a Green's function based method to incorporate thermal corrections in perturbative co-annihilation rate computations, we show that qualitative agreement with lattice data can be found once thermally broadened bound states are accounted for. We suggest that our formalism may also be applicable to specific dark matter models which have complicated bound state structures.Comment: 26 pages. v3: clarifications and references adde

On thermal corrections to near-threshold annihilation

We consider non-relativistic "dark" particles interacting through gauge boson exchange. At finite temperature, gauge exchange is modified in many ways: virtual corrections lead to Debye screening; real corrections amount to frequent scatterings of the heavy particles on light plasma constituents; mixing angles change. In a certain temperature and energy range, these effects are of order unity. Taking them into account in a resummed form, we estimate the near-threshold spectrum of kinetically equilibrated annihilating TeV scale particles. Weakly bound states are shown to "melt" below freeze-out, whereas with attractive strong interactions, relevant e.g. for gluinos, bound states boost the annihilation rate by a factor 4...80 with respect to the Sommerfeld estimate, thereby perhaps helping to avoid overclosure of the universe. Modestly non-degenerate dark sector masses and a way to combine the contributions of channels with different gauge and spin structures are also discussed.Comment: 37 pages. v2: many clarifications and references adde

Minimalist's Linux Cluster

Using barebone PC components and NIC's, we construct a linux cluster which has 2-dimensional mesh structure. This cluster has smaller footprint, is less expensive, and use less power compared to conventional linux cluster. Here, we report our experience in building such a machine and discuss our current lattice project on the machine.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the Lattice 03 Conference (Tsukuba, Japan

Decay rates of various bottomonium systems

Using the Bodwin--Braaten--Lepage factorization theorem in heavy quarkonium decay and production processes, we calculated matrix elements associated with S- and P-wave bottomonium decays via lattice QCD simulation methods. In this work, we report preliminary results on the operator matching between the lattice expression and the continuum expression at one loop level. Phenomenological implications are discussed using these preliminary $\overline{MS}$ matrix elements.Comment: 4 pages, postscript file (gzip compressed, uudecoded), contribution to Lat'9