|
Binosi, D., Ibañez, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2014). Nonperturbative study of the four gluon vertex. J. High Energy Phys., 09(9), 059–32pp.
Abstract: In this paper we study the nonperturbative structure of the SU(3) four-gluon vertex in the Landau gauge, concentrating on contributions quadratic in the metric. We employ an approximation scheme where “one-loop” diagrams are computed using fully dressed gluon and ghost propagators, and tree-level vertices. When a suitable kinematical configuration depending on a single momentum scale p is chosen, only two structures emerge: the tree-level four-gluon vertex, and a tensor orthogonal to it. A detailed numerical analysis reveals that the form factor associated with this latter tensor displays a change of sign (zero-crossing) in the deep infrared, and finally diverges logarithmically. The origin of this characteristic behavior is proven to be entirely due to the masslessness of the ghost propagators forming the corresponding ghost-loop diagram, in close analogy to a similar effect established for the three-gluon vertex. However, in the case at hand, and under the approximations employed, this particular divergence does not affect the form factor proportional to the tree-level tensor, which remains finite in the entire range of momenta, and deviates moderately from its naive tree-level value. It turns out that the kinematic configuration chosen is ideal for carrying out lattice simulations, because it eliminates from the connected Green's function all one-particle reducible contributions, projecting out the genuine one-particle irreducible vertex. Motivated by this possibility, we discuss in detail how a hypothetical lattice measurement of this quantity would compare to the results presented here, and the potential interference from an additional tensorial structure, allowed by Bose symmetry, but not encountered within our scheme.
|
|
|
Aguilar, A. C., Ibañez, D., Mathieu, V., & Papavassiliou, J. (2012). Massless bound-state excitations and the Schwinger mechanism in QCD. Phys. Rev. D, 85(1), 014018–21pp.
Abstract: The gauge-invariant generation of an effective gluon mass proceeds through the well-known Schwinger mechanism, whose key dynamical ingredient is the nonperturbative formation of longitudinally coupled massless bound-state excitations. These excitations introduce poles in the vertices of the theory, in such a way as to maintain the Slavnov-Taylor identities intact in the presence of massive gluon propagators. In the present work we first focus on the modifications induced to the nonperturbative three-gluon vertex by the inclusion of massless two-gluon bound states into the kernels appearing in its skeleton expansion. Certain general relations between the basic building blocks of these bound states and the gluon mass are then obtained from the Slavnov-Taylor identities and the Schwinger-Dyson equation governing the gluon propagator. The homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation determining the wave function of the aforementioned bound state is then derived, under certain simplifying assumptions. It is then shown, through a detailed analytical and numerical study, that this equation admits nontrivial solutions, indicating that the QCD dynamics support indeed the formation of such massless bound states. These solutions are subsequently used, in conjunction with the aforementioned relations, to determine the momentumdependence of the dynamical gluon mass. Finally, further possibilities and open questions are briefly discussed.
|
|
|
Binosi, D., Ibañez, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2012). All-order equation of the effective gluon mass. Phys. Rev. D, 86(8), 085033–21pp.
Abstract: We present the general derivation of the full nonperturbative equation that governs the momentum evolution of the dynamically generated gluon mass, in the Landau gauge. The entire construction hinges crucially on the inclusion of longitudinally coupled vertices containing massless poles of nonperturbative origin, which preserve the form of the fundamental Slavnov-Taylor identities of the theory. The mass equation is obtained from a previously unexplored version of the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the gluon propagator, particular to the pinch technique-background field method formalism, which involves a reduced number of two-loop dressed diagrams, thus simplifying the calculational task considerably. The two-loop contributions turn out to be of paramount importance, modifying the qualitative features of the full mass equation and enabling the emergence of physically meaningful solutions. Specifically, the resulting homogeneous integral equation is solved numerically, subject to certain approximations, for the entire range of physical momenta, yielding positive-definite and monotonically decreasing gluon masses.
|
|
|
Ibañez, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2013). Gluon mass generation in the massless bound-state formalism. Phys. Rev. D, 87(3), 034008–25pp.
Abstract: We present a detailed, all-order study of gluon mass generation within the massless bound-state formalism, which constitutes the general framework for the systematic implementation of the Schwinger mechanism in non-Abelian gauge theories. The main ingredient of this formalism is the dynamical formation of bound states with vanishing mass, which give rise to effective vertices containing massless poles; these latter vertices, in turn, trigger the Schwinger mechanism, and allow for the gauge-invariant generation of an effective gluon mass. This particular approach has the conceptual advantage of relating the gluon mass directly to quantities that are intrinsic to the bound-state formation itself, such as the “transition amplitude'' and the corresponding ”bound-state wave function.'' As a result, the dynamical evolution of the gluon mass is largely determined by a Bethe-Salpeter equation that controls the dynamics of the relevant wave function, rather than the Schwinger-Dyson equation of the gluon propagator, as happens in the standard treatment. The precise structure and field-theoretic properties of the transition amplitude are scrutinized in a variety of independent ways. In particular, a parallel study within the linear-covariant (Landau) gauge and the background-field method reveals that a powerful identity, known to be valid at the level of conventional Green's functions, also relates the background and quantum transition amplitudes. Despite the differences in the ingredients and terminology employed, the massless bound-state formalism is absolutely equivalent to the standard approach based on Schwinger-Dyson equations. In fact, a set of powerful relations allows one to demonstrate the exact coincidence of the integral equations governing the momentum evolution of the gluon mass in both frameworks.
|
|
|
Binosi, D., Ibañez, D., & Papavassiliou, J. (2013). QCD effective charge from the three-gluon vertex of the background-field method. Phys. Rev. D, 87(12), 125026–10pp.
Abstract: In this article we study in detail the prospects of determining the infrared finite QCD effective charge from a special kinematic limit of the vertex function corresponding to three background gluons. This particular Green's function satisfies a QED-like Ward identity, relating it to the gluon propagator, with no reference to the ghost sector. Consequently, its longitudinal form factors may be expressed entirely in terms of the corresponding gluon wave function, whose inverse is proportional to the effective charge. After reviewing certain important theoretical properties, we consider a typical lattice quantity involving this vertex, and derive its exact dependence on the various form factors, for arbitrary momenta. We then focus on the particular momentum configuration that eliminates any dependence on the (unknown) transverse form factors, projecting out only the desired quantity. A preliminary numerical analysis indicates that the effective charge is relatively insensitive to the numerical uncertainties that may afflict future simulations of the aforementioned lattice quantity. The numerical difficulties associated with a parallel determination of the dynamical gluon mass are briefly discussed.
|
|