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Ferreira, M. N., & Papavassiliou, J. (2023). Gauge Sector Dynamics in QCD. Particles, 6(1), 312–363.
Abstract: The dynamics of the QCD gauge sector give rise to non-perturbative phenomena that are crucial for the internal consistency of the theory; most notably, they account for the generation of a gluon mass through the action of the Schwinger mechanism, the taming of the Landau pole, the ensuing stabilization of the gauge coupling, and the infrared suppression of the three-gluon vertex. In the present work, we review some key advances in the ongoing investigation of this sector within the framework of the continuum Schwinger function methods, supplemented by results obtained from lattice simulations.
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Aguilar, A. C., Ferreira, M. N., Ibañez, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2023). Schwinger displacement of the quark-gluon vertex. Eur. Phys. J. C, 83(10), 967–22pp.
Abstract: The action of the Schwinger mechanism in pure Yang-Mills theories endows gluons with an effective mass, and, at the same time, induces a measurable displacement to the Ward identity satisfied by the three-gluon vertex. In the present work we turn to Quantum Chromodynamics with two light quark flavors, and explore the appearance of this characteristic displacement at the level of the quark-gluon vertex. When the Schwinger mechanism is activated, this vertex acquires massless poles, whose momentum-dependent residues are determined by a set of coupled integral equations. The main effect of these residues is to displace the Ward identity obeyed by the pole-free part of the vertex, causing modifications to its form factors, and especially the one associated with the tree-level tensor. The comparison between the available lattice data for this form factor and the Ward identity prediction reveals a marked deviation, which is completely compatible with the theoretical expectation for the attendant residue. This analysis corroborates further the self-consistency of this mass-generating scenario in the general context of real-world strong interactions.
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Aguilar, A. C., De Soto, F., Ferreira, M. N., Papavassiliou, J., & Rodriguez-Quintero, J. (2021). Infrared facets of the three-gluon vertex. Phys. Lett. B, 818, 136352–7pp.
Abstract: We present novel lattice results for the form factors of the quenched three-gluon vertex of QCD, in two special kinematic configurations that depend on a single momentum scale. We consider three form factors, two associated with a classical tensor structure and one without tree-level counterpart, exhibiting markedly different infrared behaviors. Specifically, while the former display the typical suppression driven by a negative logarithmic singularity at the origin, the latter saturates at a small negative constant. These exceptional features are analyzed within the Schwinger-Dyson framework, with the aid of special relations obtained from the Slavnov-Taylor identities of the theory. The emerging picture of the underlying dynamics is thoroughly corroborated by the lattice results, both qualitatively as well as quantitatively.
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Pinto-Gomez, F., De Soto, F., Ferreira, M. N., Papavassiliou, J., & Rodriguez-Quintero, J. (2023). Lattice three-gluon vertex in extended kinematics: Planar degeneracy. Phys. Lett. B, 838, 137737–8pp.
Abstract: We present novel results for the three-gluon vertex, obtained from an extensive quenched lattice simulation in the Landau gauge. The simulation evaluates the transversely projected vertex, spanned on a special tensorial basis, whose form factors are naturally parametrized in terms of individually Bosesymmetric variables. Quite interestingly, when evaluated in these kinematics, the corresponding form factors depend almost exclusively on a single kinematic variable, formed by the sum of the squares of the three incoming four-momenta, q, r, and p. Thus, all configurations lying on a given plane in the coordinate system (q2, r2, p2) share, to a high degree of accuracy, the same form factors, a property that we denominate planar degeneracy. We have confirmed the validity of this property through an exhaustive study of the set of configurations satisfying the condition q2 = r2, within the range [0, 5 GeV]. This drastic simplification allows for a remarkably compact description of the main bulk of the data, which is particularly suitable for future numerical applications. A semi-perturbative analysis reproduces the lattice findings rather accurately, once the inclusion of a gluon mass has cured all spurious divergences.
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Aguilar, A. C., De Soto, F., Ferreira, M. N., Papavassiliou, J., Pinto-Gomez, F., Roberts, C. D., et al. (2023). Schwinger mechanism for gluons from lattice QCD. Phys. Lett. B, 841, 137906–8pp.
Abstract: Continuum and lattice analyses have revealed the existence of a mass-scale in the gluon two-point Schwinger function. It has long been conjectured that this expresses the action of a Schwinger mechanism for gauge boson mass generation in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). For such to be true, it is necessary and sufficient that a dynamically-generated, massless, colour-carrying, scalar gluon+gluon correlation emerges as a feature of the dressed three-gluon vertex. Working with results on elementary Schwinger functions obtained via the numerical simulation of lattice-regularised QCD, we establish with an extremely high level of confidence that just such a feature appears; hence, confirm the conjectured origin of the gluon mass scale.
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Souza, E. V., Ferreira, M. N., Aguilar, A. C., Papavassiliou, J., Roberts, C. D., & Xu, S. S. (2020). Pseudoscalar glueball mass: a window on three-gluon interactions. Eur. Phys. J. A, 56(1), 25–7pp.
Abstract: In pure-glue QCD, gluon-gluon scattering in the J(PC) = 0(-+) channel is described by a very simple equation, especially if one considers just the leading contribution to the scattering kernel. Of all components in this kernel, only the three-gluon vertex, V-mu nu rho, is poorly constrained by contemporary analyses; hence, calculations of 0(-+) glueball properties serve as a clear window onto the character and form of V-mu nu rho. This is important given that many modern calculations of V-mu nu rho predict the appearance of an infrared suppression in the scalar function which comes to modulate the bare vertex after the nonperturbative resummation of interactions. Such behaviour is a peculiar prediction; but we find that the suppression is essential if one is to achieve agreement with lattice-QCD predictions for the 0(-+) glueball mass. Hence, it is likely that this novel feature of V-mu nu rho is real and has observable implications for the spectrum, decays and interactions of all QCD bound-states.
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Aguilar, A. C., De Soto, F., Ferreira, M. N., Papavassiliou, J., Rodriguez-Quintero, J., & Zafeiropoulos, S. (2020). Gluon propagator and three-gluon vertex with dynamical quarks. Eur. Phys. J. C, 80(2), 154–17pp.
Abstract: We present a detailed analysis of the kinetic and mass terms associated with the Landau gauge gluon propagator in the presence of dynamical quarks, and a comprehensive dynamical study of certain special kinematic limits of the three-gluon vertex. Our approach capitalizes on results from recent lattice simulations with (2+1) domain wall fermions, a novel nonlinear treatment of the gluon mass equation, and the nonperturbative reconstruction of the longitudinal three-gluon vertex from its fundamental Slavnov-Taylor identities. Particular emphasis is placed on the persistence of the suppression displayed by certain combinations of the vertex form factors at intermediate and low momenta, already known from numerous pure Yang-Mills studies. One of our central findings is that the inclusion of dynamical quarks moderates the intensity of this phenomenon only mildly, leaving the asymptotic low-momentum behavior unaltered, but displaces the characteristic “zero crossing” deeper into the infrared region. In addition, the effect of the three-gluon vertex is explored at the level of the effective gauge coupling, whose size is considerably reduced with respect to its counterpart obtained from the ghost-gluon vertex. The main upshot of the above considerations is the further confirmation of the tightly interwoven dynamics between the two- and three-point sectors of QCD.
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Aguilar, A. C., Ferreira, M. N., & Papavassiliou, J. (2020). Novel sum rules for the three-point sector of QCD. Eur. Phys. J. C, 80(9), 887–18pp.
Abstract: For special kinematic configurations involving a single momentum scale, certain standard relations, originating from the Slavnov-Taylor identities of the theory, may be interpreted as ordinary differential equations for the “kinetic term” of the gluon propagator. The exact solutions of these equations exhibit poles at the origin, which are incompatible with the physical answer, known to diverge only logarithmically; their elimination hinges on the validity of two integral conditions that we denominate “asymmetric” and “symmetric” sum rules, depending on the kinematics employed in their derivation. The corresponding integrands contain components of the three-gluon vertex and the ghost-gluon kernel, whose dynamics are constrained when the sum rules are imposed. For the numerical treatment we single out the asymmetric sum rule, given that its support stems predominantly from low and intermediate energy regimes of the defining integral, which are physically more interesting. Adopting a combined approach based on Schwinger-Dyson equations and lattice simulations, we demonstrate how the sum rule clearly favors the suppression of an effective form factor entering in the definition of its kernel. The results of the present work offer an additional vantage point into the rich and complex structure of the three-point sector of QCD.
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Aguilar, A. C., Ferreira, M. N., & Papavassiliou, J. (2021). Gluon dynamics from an ordinary differential equation. Eur. Phys. J. C, 81(1), 54–20pp.
Abstract: We present a novel method for computing the nonperturbative kinetic term of the gluon propagator from an ordinary differential equation, whose derivation hinges on the central hypothesis that the regular part of the three-gluon vertex and the aforementioned kinetic term are related by a partial Slavnov-Taylor identity. The main ingredients entering in the solution are projection of the three-gluon vertex and a particular derivative of the ghost-gluon kernel, whose approximate form is derived from a Schwinger-Dyson equation. Crucially, the requirement of a pole-free answer determines the initial condition, whose value is calculated from an integral containing the same ingredients as the solution itself. This feature fixes uniquely, at least in principle, the form of the kinetic term, once the ingredients have been accurately evaluated. In practice, however, due to substantial uncertainties in the computation of the necessary inputs, certain crucial components need be adjusted by hand, in order to obtain self-consistent results. Furthermore, if the gluon propagator has been independently accessed from the lattice, the solution for the kinetic term facilitates the extraction of the momentum-dependent effective gluon mass. The practical implementation of this method is carried out in detail, and the required approximations and theoretical assumptions are duly highlighted.
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Aguilar, A. C., Ferreira, M. N., Oliveira, B. M., & Papavassiliou, J. (2022). Schwinger-Dyson truncations in the all-soft limit: a case study. Eur. Phys. J. C, 82(11), 1068–15pp.
Abstract: We study a special Schwinger-Dyson equation in the context of a pure SU(3) Yang-Mills theory, formulated in the background field method. Specifically, we consider the corresponding equation for the vertex that governs the interaction of two background gluons with a ghost-antighost pair. By virtue of the background gauge invariance, this vertex satisfies a naive Slavnov-Taylor identity, which is not deformed by the ghost sector of the theory. In the all-soft limit, where all momenta vanish, the form of this vertex may be obtained exactly from the corresponding Ward identity. This special result is subsequently reproduced at the level of the Schwinger-Dyson equation, by making extensive use of Taylor's theorem and exploiting a plethora of key relations, particular to the background field method. This information permits the determination of the error associated with two distinct truncation schemes, where the potential advantage from employing lattice data for the ghost dressing function is quantitatively assessed.
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