Twisted Mass Finite Volume Effects

We calculate finite volume effects on the pion masses and decay constant in twisted mass lattice QCD (tmLQCD) at finite lattice spacing. We show that the lighter neutral pion in tmLQCD gives rise to finite volume effects that are exponentially enhanced when compared to those arising from the heavier charged pions. We demonstrate that the recent two flavour twisted mass lattice data can be better fitted when twisted mass effects in finite volume corrections are taken into account.Comment: 17 pages, revte

Scaling test of quenched Wilson twisted mass QCD at maximal twist

We present the results of an extended scaling test of quenched Wilson twisted mass QCD. We fix the twist angle by using two definitions of the critical mass, the first obtained by requiring the vanishing of the pseudoscalar meson mass m_PS for standard Wilson fermions and the second by requiring restoration of parity at non-zero value of the twisted mass mu and subsequently extrapolating to mu=0. Depending on the choice of the critical mass we simulate at values of beta in [5.7,6.45], for a range of pseudoscalar meson masses 250 MeV < m_PS < 1 GeV and we perform the continuum limit for the pseudoscalar meson decay constant f_PS and various hadron masses (vector meson m_V, baryon octet m_oct and baryon decuplet m_dec) at fixed value of r_0 m_PS. For both definitions of the critical mass, lattice artifacts are consistent with O(a) improvement. However, with the second definition, large O(a^2) discretization errors present at small quark mass with the first definition are strongly suppressed. The results in the continuum limit are in very good agreement with those from the Alpha and CP-PACS Collaborations.Comment: 6 pages, Talk presented at Lattice 2005, Dublin, 25-30 July 200

3-point functions from twisted mass lattice QCD at small quark masses

We show at the example of the matrix element between pion states of a twist-2, non-singlet operator that Wilson twisted mass fermions allow to compute this phenomenologically relevant quantitiy at small pseudo scalar masses of O(270 MeV). In the quenched approximation, we investigate the scaling behaviour of this observable that is derived from a 3-point function by applying two definitions of the critical mass and find a scaling compatible with the expected O(a^2) behaviour in both cases. A combined continuum extrapolations allows to obtain reliable results at small pion masses, which previously could not be explored by lattice QCD simulations.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, talk presented at Lattice 200

The dynamics of thin vibrated granular layers

We describe a series of experiments and computer simulations on vibrated granular media in a geometry chosen to eliminate gravitationally induced settling. The system consists of a collection of identical spherical particles on a horizontal plate vibrating vertically, with or without a confining lid. Previously reported results are reviewed, including the observation of homogeneous, disordered liquid-like states, an instability to a `collapse' of motionless spheres on a perfect hexagonal lattice, and a fluctuating, hexagonally ordered state. In the presence of a confining lid we see a variety of solid phases at high densities and relatively high vibration amplitudes, several of which are reported for the first time in this article. The phase behavior of the system is closely related to that observed in confined hard-sphere colloidal suspensions in equilibrium, but with modifications due to the effects of the forcing and dissipation. We also review measurements of velocity distributions, which range from Maxwellian to strongly non-Maxwellian depending on the experimental parameter values. We describe measurements of spatial velocity correlations that show a clear dependence on the mechanism of energy injection. We also report new measurements of the velocity autocorrelation function in the granular layer and show that increased inelasticity leads to enhanced particle self-diffusion.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure