The Lattice Free Energy with Overlap Fermions: A Two-Loop Result

Abstract

We calculate the 2-loop partition function of QCD on the lattice, using the Wilson formulation for gluons and the overlap-Dirac operator for fermions. Direct by-products of our result are the 2-loop free energy and average plaquette. Our calculation serves also as a prototype for further higher loop calculations in the overlap formalism. We present our results as a function of a free parameter $M_0$ entering the overlap action; the dependence on the number of colors $N$ and fermionic flavors $N_f$ is shown explicitly.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Final version to appear in Physical Review D. A missing overall factor was inserted in Eq. 12; it affects also Eq. 1