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Aguilar, A. C., Binosi, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2016). The gluon mass generation mechanism: A concise primer. Front. Phys., 11(2), 111203–18pp. Abstract: We present a pedagogical overview of the nonperturbative mechanism that endows gluons with a dynamical mass. This analysis is performed based on pure Yang-Mills theories in the Landau gauge, within the theoretical framework that emerges from the combination of the pinch technique with the background field method. In particular, we concentrate on the Schwinger-Dyson equation satisfied by the gluon propagator and examine the necessary conditions for obtaining finite solutions within the infrared region. The role of seagull diagrams receives particular attention, as do the identities that enforce the cancellation of all potential quadratic divergences. We stress the necessity of introducing nonperturbative massless poles in the fully dressed vertices of the theory in order to trigger the Schwinger mechanism, and explain in detail the instrumental role of these poles in maintaining the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin symmetry at every step of the mass-generating procedure. The dynamical equation governing the evolution of the gluon mass is derived, and its solutions are determined numerically following implementation of a set of simplifying assumptions. The obtained mass function is positive definite, and exhibits a power law running that is consistent with general arguments based on the operator product expansion in the ultraviolet region. A possible connection between confinement and the presence of an inflection point in the gluon propagator is briefly discussed. Keywords: nonperturbative physics; Schwinger-Dyson equations; dynamical mass generation https://references.ific.uv.es/refbase/show.php?record=2859
Aguilar, A. C., Binosi, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2017). Schwinger mechanism in linear covariant gauges. Phys. Rev. D, 95(3), 034017–16pp. Abstract: In this work we explore the applicability of a special gluon mass generating mechanism in the context of the linear covariant gauges. In particular, the implementation of the Schwinger mechanism in pure Yang-Mills theories hinges crucially on the inclusion of massless bound-state excitations in the fundamental nonperturbative vertices of the theory. The dynamical formation of such excitations is controlled by a homogeneous linear Bethe-Salpeter equation, whose nontrivial solutions have been studied only in the Landau gauge. Here, the form of this integral equation is derived for general values of the gauge-fixing parameter, under a number of simplifying assumptions that reduce the degree of technical complexity. The kernel of this equation consists of fully dressed gluon propagators, for which recent lattice data are used as input, and of three-gluon vertices dressed by a single form factor, which is modeled by means of certain physically motivated Ansatze. The gauge-dependent terms contributing to this kernel impose considerable restrictions on the infrared behavior of the vertex form factor; specifically, only infrared finite Ansatze are compatible with the existence of nontrivial solutions. When such Ansatze are employed, the numerical study of the integral equation reveals a continuity in the type of solutions as one varies the gauge-fixing parameter, indicating a smooth departure from the Landau gauge. Instead, the logarithmically divergent form factor displaying the characteristic “zero crossing,” while perfectly consistent in the Landau gauge, has to undergo a dramatic qualitative transformation away from it, in order to yield acceptable solutions. The possible implications of these results are briefly discussed. https://references.ific.uv.es/refbase/show.php?record=2987
Aguilar, A. C., Cardona, J. C., Ferreira, M. N., & Papavassiliou, J. (2017). Non-Abelian Ball-Chiu vertex for arbitrary Euclidean momenta. Phys. Rev. D, 96(1), 014029–29pp. Abstract: We determine the non-Abelian version of the four nontransverse form factors of the quark-gluon vertex, using exact expressions derived from the Slavnov-Taylor identity that this vertex satisfies. In addition to the quark and ghost propagators, a key ingredient of the present approach is the quark-ghost scattering kernel, which is computed within the one-loop dressed approximation. The vertex form factors obtained from this procedure are evaluated for arbitrary Euclidean momenta, and display features not captured by the well-known Ball-Chiu vertex, deduced from the Abelian (ghost-free) Ward identity. Particularly interesting in this analysis is the so-called soft-gluon limit, which, unlike other kinematic configurations considered, is especially sensitive to the approximations employed for the vertex entering in the quark-ghost scattering kernel, and may even be affected by a subtle numerical instability. As an elementary application of the results obtained, we evaluate and compare certain renormalization-point-independent combinations, which contribute to the interaction kernels appearing in the standard quark gap and Bethe-Salpeter equations. In doing so, even though all form factors of the quark-gluon vertex, and in particular the transverse ones which are unconstrained by our procedure, enter nontrivially in the aforementioned kernels, only the contribution of a single form factor, corresponding to the classical (tree-level) tensor, will be considered. https://references.ific.uv.es/refbase/show.php?record=3232
Aguilar, A. C., Binosi, D., Figueiredo, C. T., & Papavassiliou, J. (2018). Evidence of ghost suppression in gluon mass scale dynamics. Eur. Phys. J. C, 78(3), 181–15pp. Abstract: In this work we study the impact that the ghost sector of pure Yang-Mills theories may have on the generation of a dynamical gauge boson mass scale, which hinges on the appearance of massless poles in the fundamental vertices of the theory, and the subsequent realization of the well-known Schwinger mechanism. The process responsible for the formation of such structures is itself dynamical in nature, and is governed by a set of Bethe-Salpeter type of integral equations. While in previous studies the presence of massless poles was assumed to be exclusively associated with the background-gauge three-gluon vertex, in the present analysis we allow them to appear also in the corresponding ghost-gluon vertex. The full analysis of the resulting Bethe-Salpeter system reveals that the contribution of the poles associated with the ghost-gluon vertex are particularly suppressed, their sole discernible effect being a slight modification in the running of the gluon mass scale, for momenta larger than a few GeV. In addition, we examine the behavior of the (background-gauge) ghost-gluon vertex in the limit of vanishing ghost momentum, and derive the corresponding version of Taylor's theorem. These considerations, together with a suitable Ansatz, permit us the full reconstruction of the pole sector of the two vertices involved. https://references.ific.uv.es/refbase/show.php?record=3515
Aguilar, A. C., Cardona, J. C., Ferreira, M. N., & Papavassiliou, J. (2018). Quark gap equation with non-Abelian Ball-Chiu vertex. Phys. Rev. D, 98(1), 014002–15pp. Abstract: The full quark-gluon vertex is a crucial ingredient for the dynamical generation of a constituent quark mass from the standard quark gap equation, and its nontransverse part may be determined exactly from the nonlinear Slav nov-Taylor identity that it satisfies. The resulting expression involves not only the quark propagator, but also the ghost dressing function and the quark-ghost kernel, and constitutes the non-abelian extension of the so-called “Ball-Chiu vertex,” known from QED. In the present work we carry out a detailed study of the impact of this vertex on the gap equation and the quark masses generated from it, putting particular emphasis on the contributions directly related with the ghost sector of the theory, and especially the quark-ghost kernel. In particular, we set up and solve the coupled system of six equations that determine the four form factors of the latter kernel and the two typical Dirac structures composing the quark propagator. Due to the incomplete implementation of the multiplicative renormalizability at the level of the gap equation, the correct anomalous dimension of the quark mass is recovered through the inclusion of a certain function, whose ultraviolet behavior is fixed, but its infrared completion is unknown; three particular Ansatze for this function are considered, and their effect on the quark mass and the pion decay constant is explored. The main results of this study indicate that the numerical impact of the quark-ghost kernel is considerable; the transition from a tree-level kernel to the one computed hem leads to a 20% increase in the value of the quark mass at the origin. Particularly interesting is the contribution of the fourth Ball-Chiu form factor, which, contrary to the Abelian case, is nonvanishing, and accounts for 10% of the total constituent quark mass. https://references.ific.uv.es/refbase/show.php?record=3642

Aguilar, A. C., Binosi, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2016). The gluon mass generation mechanism: A concise primer. Front. Phys., 11(2), 111203–18pp.

Aguilar, A. C., Binosi, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2017). Schwinger mechanism in linear covariant gauges. Phys. Rev. D, 95(3), 034017–16pp.

Aguilar, A. C., Cardona, J. C., Ferreira, M. N., & Papavassiliou, J. (2017). Non-Abelian Ball-Chiu vertex for arbitrary Euclidean momenta. Phys. Rev. D, 96(1), 014029–29pp.

Aguilar, A. C., Binosi, D., Figueiredo, C. T., & Papavassiliou, J. (2018). Evidence of ghost suppression in gluon mass scale dynamics. Eur. Phys. J. C, 78(3), 181–15pp.

Aguilar, A. C., Cardona, J. C., Ferreira, M. N., & Papavassiliou, J. (2018). Quark gap equation with non-Abelian Ball-Chiu vertex. Phys. Rev. D, 98(1), 014002–15pp.