Non-perturbative Green's functions and the QCD effective charge

Using as ingredients the non-perturbative solutions of various QCD Green's function obtained from Schwinger-Dyson equations (SDEs), we study two versions of the QCD effective charge. The first one obtained from the pinch technique gluon self-energy, and the second from the ghost-gluon vertex. Despite the distinct nature of their buildings blocks, the two effectives charges are almost identical in the entire range of momenta, due to a fundamental identity relating the ghost dressing function with the two form factors of Green's function, which is of central importance in the PT-BFM formalism. In this talk, we outline how to derive this crucial identity from the SDEs of the aforementioned Green's functions. The renormalization procedure that preserves the validity of this identity is discussed in detail. Most importantly, we show that due to the infrared finiteness of the gluon propagator, the QCD charge obtained with either definition freezes in the deep infrared, in agreement with theoretical and phenomenological expectations.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Talk presented at the International Workshop on QCD Green's Functions, Confinement, and Phenomenology - QCD-TNT09, September 07 - 11 2009, ECT* Trento, Ital

New insights on non-perturbative Yang-Mills

In this talk we review some recent results on the infrared properties of the gluon and ghost propagators in pure Yang-Mills theories. These results are obtained from the corresponding Schwinger-Dyson equation formulated in a special truncation scheme, which preserves gauge invariance. The presence of massless poles in the three gluon vertex triggers the generation of a dynamical gluon mass (Schwinger mechanism in d=4), which gives rise to an infrared finite gluon propagator and ghost dressing function. As a byproduct of this analysis we calculate the Kugo-Ojima function, required for the definition of the non-perturbative QCD effective charge within the pinch technique framework. We show that the numerical solutions of these non-perturbative equations are in very good agreement with the results of SU(3) lattice simulations.Comment: Invited talk at XI Hadron Physics, Maresias, S\~ao Paulo, Brazil, 21-26 March, 201

Chiral symmetry breaking revisited: the gap equation with lattice ingredients

We study chiral symmetry breaking in QCD, using as ingredients in the quark gap equation recent lattice results for the gluon and ghost propagators. The Ansatz employed for the quark-gluon vertex is purely non-Abelian, introducing a crucial dependence on the ghost dressing function and the quark-ghost scattering amplitude. The numerical impact of these quantities is considerable: the need to invoke confinement explicitly is avoided, and the dynamical quark masses generated are of the order of 300 MeV. In addition, the pion decay constant and the quark condensate are computed, and are found to be in good agreement with phenomenology.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures. Talk presented at the Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum - Madrid 2010, August 30th - September 3rd 2010, Madrid, Spai

Analyzing dynamical gluon mass generation

We study the necessary conditions for obtaining infrared finite solutions from the Schwinger-Dyson equation governing the dynamics of the gluon propagator. The equation in question is set up in the Feynman gauge of the background field method, thus capturing a number of desirable features. Most notably, and in contradistinction to the standard formulation, the gluon self-energy is transverse order-by-order in the dressed loop expansion, and separately for gluonic and ghost contributions. Various subtle field-theoretic issues, such as renormalization group invariance and regularization of quadratic divergences, are briefly addressed. The infrared and ultraviolet properties of the obtained solutions are examined in detail, and the allowed range for the effective gluon mass is presented.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Talk presented at "Infrared QCD in Rio" (IRQCD 2006), 5-9 June 2006, Rio de Janeiro, Brazi

Non-perturbative QCD effective charges

Using gluon and ghost propagators obtained from Schwinger-Dyson equations (SDEs), we construct the non-perturbative effective charge of QCD. We employ two different definitions, which, despite their distinct field-theoretic origin, give rise to qualitative comparable results, by virtue of a crucial non-perturbative identity. Most importantly, the QCD charge obtained with either definition freezes in the deep infrared, in agreement with theoretical and phenomenological expectations. The various theoretical ingredients necessary for this construction are reviewed in detail, and some conceptual subtleties are briefly discussed.Comment: Invited talk at Light Cone 2009: Relativistic Nuclear and Particle Physics (LC2009), Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, 8-13 July, 200

Gluon mass generation without seagull divergences

Dynamical gluon mass generation has been traditionally plagued with seagull divergences, and all regularization procedures proposed over the years yield finite but scheme-dependent gluon masses. In this work we show how such divergences can be eliminated completely by virtue of a characteristic identity, valid in dimensional regularization. The ability to trigger the aforementioned identity hinges crucially on the particular Ansatz employed for the three-gluon vertex entering into the Schwinger-Dyson equation governing the gluon propagator. The use of the appropriate three-gluon vertex brings about an additional advantage: one obtains two separate (but coupled) integral equations, one for the effective charge and one for the gluon mass. This system of integral equations has a unique solution, which unambiguously determines these two quantities. Most notably, the effective charge freezes in the infrared, and the gluon mass displays power-law running in the ultraviolet, in agreement with earlier considerations.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures; minor typos corrected and a few brief explanatory remarks adde

Effective gluon mass and infrared fixed point in QCD

We report on a special type of solutions for the gluon propagator of pure QCD, obtained from the corresponding non-linear Schwinger-Dyson equation formulated in the Feynman gauge of the background field method. These solutions reach a finite value in the deep infrared and may be fitted using a massive propagator, with the crucial characteristic that the effective ``mass'' employed depends on the momentum transfer. Specifically, the gluon mass falls off as the inverse square of the momentum, as expected from the operator-product expansion. In addition, one may define a dimensionless quantity, which constitutes the generalization in a non-Abelian context of the universal QED effective charge. This strong effective charge displays asymptotic freedom in the ultraviolet whereas in the low-energy regime it freezes at a finite value, giving rise to an infrared fixed point for QCD.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Talk given at QCD@work 2007, Martina Franca, Italy, 16-20 June 200

Gluon mass generation in the PT-BFM scheme

In this article we study the general structure and special properties of the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the gluon propagator constructed with the pinch technique, together with the question of how to obtain infrared finite solutions, associated with the generation of an effective gluon mass. Exploiting the known all-order correspondence between the pinch technique and the background field method, we demonstrate that, contrary to the standard formulation, the non-perturbative gluon self-energy is transverse order-by-order in the dressed loop expansion, and separately for gluonic and ghost contributions. We next present a comprehensive review of several subtle issues relevant to the search of infrared finite solutions, paying particular attention to the role of the seagull graph in enforcing transversality, the necessity of introducing massless poles in the three-gluon vertex, and the incorporation of the correct renormalization group properties. In addition, we present a method for regulating the seagull-type contributions based on dimensional regularization; its applicability depends crucially on the asymptotic behavior of the solutions in the deep ultraviolet, and in particular on the anomalous dimension of the dynamically generated gluon mass. A linearized version of the truncated Schwinger-Dyson equation is derived, using a vertex that satisfies the required Ward identity and contains massless poles belonging to different Lorentz structures. The resulting integral equation is then solved numerically, the infrared and ultraviolet properties of the obtained solutions are examined in detail, and the allowed range for the effective gluon mass is determined. Various open questions and possible connections with different approaches in the literature are discussed.Comment: 54 pages, 24 figure