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.

Abstract: Lattice simulations along with studies in continuum QCD indicate that non-perturbative quantum fluctuations lead to an infrared regularisation of the gluon propagator in covariant gauges in the form of an effective mass-like behaviour. In the present work we propose an analytic understanding of this phenomenon in terms of gluon condensation through a dynamical version of the Higgs mechanism, leading to the emergence of color condensates. Within the functional renormalisation group approach we compute the effective potential of covariantly constant field strengths, whose non-trivial minimum is related to the color condensates. In the physical case of an SU(3) gauge group this is an octet condensate. The value of the gluon mass obtained through this procedure compares very well to lattice results and the mass gap arising from alternative dynamical scenarios.

Abstract: We study an approximate version of the Schwinger-Dyson equation that controls the nonperturbative behavior of the ghost-gluon vertex in the Landau gauge. In particular, we focus on the form factor that enters in the dynamical equation for the ghost dressing function, in the same gauge, and derive its integral equation, in the “one-loop dressed” approximation. We consider two special kinematic configurations, which simplify the momentum dependence of the unknown quantity; in particular, we study the soft gluon case and the well-known Taylor limit. When coupled with the Schwinger-Dyson equation of the ghost dressing function, the contribution of this form factor provides considerable support to the relevant integral kernel. As a consequence, the solution of this coupled system of integral equations furnishes a ghost dressing function that reproduces the standard lattice results rather accurately, without the need to artificially increase the value of the gauge coupling.

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.

Abstract: We present a comprehensive study of the quark sector of 2 + 1 flavor QCD, based on a self-consistent treatment of the coupled system of Schwinger-Dyson equations for the quark propagator and the full quark-gluon vertex in the one-loop dressed approximation. The individual form factors of the quark-gluon vertex are expressed in a special tensor basis obtained from a set of gauge-invariant operators. The sole external ingredient used as input to our equations is the Landau gauge gluon propagator with 2 + 1 dynamical quark flavors, obtained from studies with Schwinger-Dyson equations, the functional renormalization group approach, and large volume lattice simulations. The appropriate renormalization procedure required in order to self-consistently accommodate external inputs stemming from other functional approaches or the lattice is discussed in detail, and the value of the gauge coupling is accurately determined at two vastly separated renormalization group scales. Our analysis establishes a clear hierarchy among the vertex form factors. We identify only three dominant ones, in agreement with previous results. The components of the quark propagator obtained from our approach are in excellent agreement with the results from Schwinger-Dyson equations, the functional renormalization group, and lattice QCD simulation, a simple benchmark observable being the chiral condensate in the chiral limit, which is computed as (245 MeV)(3). The present approach has a wide range of applications, including the self-consistent computation of bound-state properties and finite temperature and density physics, which are briefly discussed.