We discuss a new strategy for treating the complex action problem of lattice field theories with a $theta$-term based on density of states (DoS) methods. The key ingredient is to use open boundary conditions where the topological charge is not quanti
zed to integers and the density of states is sufficiently well behaved such that it can be computed precisely with recently developed DoS techniques. After a general discussion of the approach and the role of the boundary conditions, we analyze the method for 2-d U(1) lattice gauge theory with a $theta$-term, a model that can be solved in closed form. We show that in the continuum limit periodic and open boundary conditions describe the same physics and derive the DoS, demonstrating that only for open boundary conditions the density is sufficiently well behaved for a numerical evaluation. We conclude our proof of principle analysis with a small test simulation where we numerically compute the density and compare it with the analytical result.
We discuss two new DoS approaches for finite density lattice QCD. The paper extends a recent presentation of the new techniques based on Wilson fermions, while here we now discuss and test the case of finite density QCD with staggered fermions. The f
irst of our two approaches is based on the canonical formulation where observables at a fixed net quark number $N$ are obtained as Fourier moments of the vacuum expectation values at imaginary chemical potential $theta$. We treat the latter as densities which can be computed with the recently developed FFA method. The second approach is based on a direct grand canonical evaluation after rewriting the QCD partition sum in terms of a suitable pseudo-fermion representation. In this form the imaginary part of the pseudo-fermion action can be identified and the corresponding density may again be computed with FFA. We develop the details of the two approaches and discuss some exploratory first tests for the case of free fermions where reference results for assessing the new techniques may be obtained from Fourier transformation.
We revisit the issue of worldline formulations for the q-state Potts model and discuss a worldline representation in arbitrary dimensions which also allows for magnetic terms. For vanishing magnetic field we implement a Hodge decomposition for resolv
ing the constraints with dual variables, which in two dimensions implies self-duality as a simple corollary. We present exploratory 2-d Monte Carlo simulations in terms of the worldlines, based on worm algorithms. We study both, vanishing and non-zero magnetic field, and explore q between q = 2 and q = 30, i.e., Potts models with continuous, as well as strong first order transitions.
We present two new suggestions for density of states (DoS) approaches to finite density lattice QCD. Both proposals are based on the recently developed and successfully tested DoS FFA technique, which is a DoS approach for bosonic systems with a comp
lex action problem. The two different implementations of DoS FFA we suggest for QCD make use of different representations of finite density lattice QCD in terms of suitable pseudo-fermion path integrals. The first proposal is based on a pseudo-fermion representation of the grand canonical QCD partition sum, while the second is a formulation for the canonical ensemble. We work out the details of the two proposals and discuss the results of exploratory 2-d test studies for free fermions at finite density, where exact reference data allow one to verify the final results and intermediate steps.
Using 2-d U(1) lattice gauge theory we study two definitions of the topological charge constructed from a generalized Villain action and analyze the implementation of the index theorem based on the overlap Dirac operator. One of the two definitions e
xpresses the topological charge as a sum of the Villain variables and treats charge conjugation symmetry exactly, making it particularly useful for studying related physics. Our numerical analysis establishes that for both topological charge definitions the index theorem becomes exact quickly towards the continuum limit.
We explore new representations for lattice gauge theories with fermions, where the space-time lattice is divided into dynamically fluctuating regions, inside which different types of degrees of freedom are used in the path integral. The first kind of
regions is a union of so-called bags, in which the dynamics is described by the free propagation of composite degrees of freedom of the original fermions. In the second region, called complementary domain, configurations of the remaining interacting degrees of freedom are used to describe the dynamics. We work out the bag representation for the gauge groups SU(2) and SU(3) and address the nature of the strong coupling effective degrees of freedom, which are fermions for SU(3) and bosons for SU(2). We discuss first steps towards a numerical simulation of the bag representations.
We study 2d U(1) gauge Higgs systems with a $theta$-term. For properly discretizing the topological charge as an integer we introduce a mixed group- and algebra-valued discretization (MGA scheme) for the gauge fields, such that the charge conjugation
symmetry at $theta = pi$ is implemented exactly. The complex action problem from the $theta$-term is overcome by exactly mapping the partition sum to a worldline/worldsheet representation. Using Monte Carlo simulation of the worldline/worldsheet representation we study the system at $theta = pi$ and show that as a function of the mass parameter the system undergoes a phase transition. Determining the critical exponents from a finite size scaling analysis we show that the transition is in the 2d Ising universality class. We furthermore study the U(1) gauge Higgs systems at $theta = pi$ also with charge 2 matter fields, where an additional $Z_2$ symmetry is expected to alter the phase structure. Our results indicate that for charge 2 a true phase transition is absent and only a rapid crossover separates the large and small mass regions.
We study $phi^4$ lattice field theory at finite chemical potential $mu$ in two and four dimensions, using a worldline representation that overcomes the complex action problem. We compute the particle number at very low temperature as a function of $m
u$ and determine the first three condensation thresholds, where the system condenses 1, 2 and 3 particles. The corresponding critical values of the chemical potential can be related to the 1-, 2- and 3-particle energies of the system, and we check this relation with a direct spectroscopy determination of the $n$-particle energies from $2n$-point functions. We analyze the thresholds as a function of the spatial size of the system and use the known finite volume results for the $n$-particle energies to relate the thresholds to scattering data. For four dimensions we determine the scattering length from the 2-particle threshold, while in two dimensions the full scattering phase shift can be determined. In both cases the scattering data computed from the 2-particle threshold already allow one to determine the 3-particle energy. In both, two and four dimensions we find very good agreement of this prediction with direct determinations of the 3-particle energy from either the thresholds or the 6-point functions. The results show that low temperature condensation is indeed governed by scattering data.
We simulate the 2d U(1) gauge Higgs model on the lattice with a topological angle $theta$. The corresponding complex action problem is overcome by using a dual representation based on the Villain action appropriately endowed with a $theta$-term. The
Villain action is interpreted as a non-compact gauge theory whose center symmetry is gauged and has the advantage that the topological term is correctly quantized so that $2pi$ periodicity in $theta$ is intact. Because of this the $theta = pi$ theory has an exact $Z_2$ charge-conjugation symmetry $C$, which is spontaneously broken when the mass-squared of the scalars is large and positive. Lowering the mass squared the symmetry becomes restored in a second order phase transition. Simulating the system at $theta = pi$ in its dual form we determine the corresponding critical endpoint as a function of the mass parameter. Using a finite size scaling analysis we determine the critical exponents and show that the transition is in the 2d Ising universality class, as expected.
We present first results from dynamical Chirally Improved (CI) fermion simulations for the axial charge $G_A$ of various hadrons. We work with 16^3x32 lattices of spatial extent 2.4 fm and use the variational method with a suitable basis of Jacobi-sm
eared interpolators to suppress contaminations from excited states.
