Influence of topology on fermionic zero-modes in lattice gauge theory

A way to identify the would-be zero-modes of staggered lattice fermions away from the continuum limit is presented. The idea, which is to consider the spectral flow of a certain Hermitian version of the staggered Dirac operator, is developed and discussed. The influence of topology on zero-modes of staggered lattice fermions is numerically investigated in 4 dimensions for U(1) gauge fields. The staggered fermion index obtained is shown to be determined by the underlying gauge field topology in accordance with the Atiyah-Singer Index theorem. It is also found to perform as well as the Wilson index, while being computationally more efficient.​Doctor of Philosophy (SPMS