No Arabic abstract
We construct lattice gauge theories in which the elements of the link matrices are represented by non-commuting operators acting in a Hilbert space. These quantum link models are related to ordinary lattice gauge theories in the same way as quantum spin models are related to ordinary classical spin systems. Here U(1) and SU(2) quantum link models are constructed explicitly. As Hamiltonian theories quantum link models are nonrelativistic gauge theories with potential applications in condensed matter physics. When formulated with a fifth Euclidean dimension, universality arguments suggest that dimensional reduction to four dimensions occurs. Hence, quantum link models are also reformulations of ordinary quantum field theories and are applicable to particle physics, for example to QCD. The configuration space of quantum link models is discrete and hence their numerical treatment should be simpler than that of ordinary lattice gauge theories with a continuous configuration space.
The solution of gauge theories is one of the most promising applications of quantum technologies. Here, we discuss the approach to the continuum limit for $U(1)$ gauge theories regularized via finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces of quantum spin-$S$ operators, known as quantum link models. For quantum electrodynamics (QED) in one spatial dimension, we numerically demonstrate the continuum limit by extrapolating the ground state energy, the scalar, and the vector meson masses to large spin lengths $S$, large volume $N$, and vanishing lattice spacing $a$. By analytically solving Gauss law for arbitrary $S$, we obtain a generalized PXP spin model and count the physical Hilbert space dimension analytically. This allows us to quantify the required resources for reliable extrapolations to the continuum limit on quantum devices. We use a functional integral approach to relate the model with large values of half-integer spins to the physics at topological angle $Theta=pi$. Our findings indicate that quantum devices will in the foreseeable future be able to quantitatively probe the QED regime with quantum link models.
Quantum spin and quantum link models provide an unconventional regularization of field theory in which classical fields arise via dimensional reduction of discrete variables. This D-theory regularization leads to the same continuum theories as the conventional approach. We show this by deriving the low-energy effective Lagrangians of D-theory models using coherent state path integral techniques. We illustrate our method for the $(2+1)$-d Heisenberg quantum spin model which is the D-theory regularization of the 2-d O(3) model. Similarly, we prove that in the continuum limit a $(2+1)$-d quantum spin model with $SU(N)_Ltimes SU(N)_Rtimes U(1)_{L=R}$ symmetry is equivalent to the 2-d principal chiral model. Finally, we show that $(4+1)$-d SU(N) quantum link models reduce to ordinary 4-d Yang-Mills theory.
We provide the evidence for the existence of partially deconfined phase in large-$N$ gauge theory. In this phase, the SU($M$) subgroup of SU($N$) gauge group deconfines, where $frac{M}{N}$ changes continuously from zero (confined phase) to one (deconfined phase). The partially deconfined phase may exist in real QCD with $N=3$.
We study perturbations that break gauge symmetries in lattice gauge theories. As a paradigmatic model, we consider the three-dimensional Abelian-Higgs (AH) model with an N-component scalar field and a noncompact gauge field, which is invariant under U(1) gauge and SU(N) transformations. We consider gauge-symmetry breaking perturbations that are quadratic in the gauge field, such as a photon mass term, and determine their effect on the critical behavior of the gauge-invariant model, focusing mainly on the continuous transitions associated with the charged fixed point of the AH field theory. We discuss their relevance and compute the (gauge-dependent) exponents that parametrize the departure from the critical behavior (continuum limit) of the gauge-invariant model. We also address the critical behavior of lattice AH models with broken gauge symmetry, showing an effective enlargement of the global symmetry, from U(N) to O(2N), which reflects a peculiar cyclic renormalization-group flow in the space of the lattice AH parameters and of the photon mass.
We define gauge theories whose gauge group includes charge conjugation as well as standard $mathrm{SU}(N)$ transformations. When combined, these transformations form a novel type of group with a semidirect product structure. For $N$ even, we show that there are exactly two possible such groups which we dub $widetilde{mathrm{SU}}(N)_{mathrm{I,II}}$. We construct the transformation rules for the fundamental and adjoint representations, allowing us to explicitly build four-dimensional $mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories based on $widetilde{mathrm{SU}}(N)_{mathrm{I,II}}$ and understand from first principles their global symmetry. We compute the Haar measure on the groups, which allows us to quantitatively study the operator content in protected sectors by means of the superconformal index. In particular, we find that both types of $widetilde{mathrm{SU}}(N)_{mathrm{I,II}}$ groups lead to non-freely generated Coulomb branches.