Towards Lattice QCD Baryon Forces at the Physical Point: First Results

Lattice QCD calculations of baryon forces are performed for the first time with (almost) physical quark masses. $N_f = 2+1$ dynamical clover fermion gauge configurations are generated at the lattice spacing of $a simeq 0.085$ fm on a $(96 a)^4 simeq (8.2 {rm fm})^4$ lattice with quark masses corresponding to $(m_pi, m_K) simeq (146, 525)$ MeV. Baryon forces are calculated using the time-dependent HAL QCD method. In this report, we study $XiXi$ and $NN$ systems both in $^1S_0$ and $^3S_1$-$^3D_1$ channels, and the results for the central and tensor forces as well as phase shifts in the $XiXi$ $(^1S_0)$ channel are presented.