No Arabic abstract
Scattering observables can be computed in lattice field theory by measuring the volume dependence of energy levels of two particle states. The dominant volume dependence, proportional to inverse powers of the volume, is determined by the phase shifts. This universal relation (Lus formula) between energy levels and phase shifts is distorted by corrections which, in the large volume limit, are exponentially suppressed. They may be sizable, however, for the volumes used in practice and they set a limit on how small the lattice can be in these studies. We estimate these corrections, mostly in the case of two nucleons. Qualitatively, we find that the exponentially suppressed corrections are proportional to the {it square} of the potential (or to terms suppressed in the chiral expansion) and the effect due to pions going ``around the world vanishes. Quantitatively, the size of the lattice should be greater than $approx(5 {fm})^3$ in order to keep finite volume corrections to the phase less than $1^circ$ for realistic pion mass.
In this comment, we address a number of erroneous discussions and conclusions presented in a recent preprint by the HALQCD collaboration, arXiv:1703.07210. In particular, we demonstrate that lattice QCD determinations of bound states at quark masses corresponding to a pion mass of $m_pi = 806$ MeV are robust, and that the phases shifts extracted by the NPLQCD collaboration for these systems pass all of the sanity checks introduced in arXiv:1703.07210.
On the basis of the Luschers finite volume formula, a simple test (consistency check or sanity check) is introduced and applied to inspect the recent claims of the existence of the nucleon-nucleon ($NN$) bound state(s) for heavy quark masses in lattice QCD. We show that the consistency between the scattering phase shifts at $k^2 > 0$ and/or $k^2 < 0$ obtained from the lattice data and the behavior of phase shifts from the effective range expansion (ERE) around $k^2=0$ exposes the validity of the original lattice data, otherwise such information is hidden in the energy shift $Delta E$ of the two nucleons on the lattice. We carry out this sanity check for all the lattice results in the literature claiming the existence of the $NN$ bound state(s) for heavy quark masses, and find that (i) some of the $NN$ data show clear inconsistency between the behavior of ERE at $k^2 > 0$ and that at $k^2 < 0$, (ii) some of the $NN$ data exhibit singular behavior of the low energy parameter (such as the divergent effective range) at $k^2<0$, (iii) some of the $NN$ data have the unphysical residue for the bound state pole in S-matrix, and (iv) the rest of the $NN$ data are inconsistent among themselves. Furthermore, we raise a caution of using the ERE in the case of the multiple bound states. Our finding, together with the fake plateau problem previously pointed out by the present authors, brings a serious doubt on the existence of the $NN$ bound states for pion masses heavier than 300 MeV in the previous studies.
For the attractive interaction, the Luschers finite volume formula gives the phase shift at negative squared moment $k^2<0$ for the ground state in the finite volume, which corresponds to the analytic continuation of the phase shift at $k^2<0$ in the infinite volume. Using this fact, we reexamine behaviors of phase shifts at $k^2 <0$ obtained directly from plateaux of effective energy shifts in previous lattice studies for two nucleon systems on various volumes. We have found that data, based on which existences of the bound states are claimed, show singular behaviors of the phase shift at $k^2<0$, which seem incompatible with smooth behaviors predicted by the effective range expansion. This, together with the fake plateau problem for the determination of the energy shift, brings a serious doubt on existences of the $NN$ bound states claimed in previous lattice studies at pion masses heavier than 300 MeV.
An extension of the Luschers finite volume method above inelastic thresholds is proposed. It is fulfilled by extendind the procedure recently proposed by HAL-QCD Collaboration for a single channel system. Focusing on the asymptotic behaviors of the Nambu-Bethe-Salpeter (NBS) wave functions (equal-time) near spatial infinity, a coupled channel extension of effective Schrodinger equation is constructed by introducing an energy-independent interaction kernel. Because the NBS wave functions contain the information of T-matrix at long distance, S-matrix can be obtained by solving the coupled channel effective Schrodinger equation in the infinite volume.
A sanity check rules out certain types of obviously false results, but does not catch every possible error. After reviewing such a sanity check for $NN$ bound states with the Luschers finite volume formula[1-3], we give further evidences for the operator dependence of plateaux, a symptom of the fake plateau problem, against the claim in [4]. We then present our critical comments on [5] by NPLQCD: (i) Operator dependences of plateaux in NPL2013[6,7] exist with the $P$-values of 4--5%. (ii) The volume independence of plateaux in NPL2013 does not prove their correctness. (iii) Effective range expansion (ERE) fits in NPL2013 violate the physical pole condition. (iv) Ref.[5] is partly based on new data and analysis different from the original ones[6,7]. (v) A new ERE in Refs.[5,8] does not satisfy the Luschers finite volume formula. [1] T. Iritani et al., JHEP 10 (2016) 101. [2] S. Aoki et al., PoS (LATTICE2016) 109. [3] T. Iritani et al., 1703.0720. [4] T. Yamazaki et al., PoS (LATTICE2017) 108. [5] S.R. Beane et al., 1705.09239. [6] S.R. Beane et al., PRD87 (2013) 034506. [7] S.R. Beane et al., PRC88 (2013) 024003. [8] M.L. Wagman et al., 1706.06550.