Precision computation of hadronic physics with lattice QCD is becoming feasible. The last decade has seen percent-level calculations of many simple properties of mesons, and the last few years have seen calculations of baryon masses, including the nu
cleon mass, accurate to a few percent. As computational power increases and algorithms advance, the precise calculation of a variety of more demanding hadronic properties will become realistic. With this in mind, I discuss the current lattice QCD calculations of generalized parton distributions with an emphasis on the prospects for well-controlled calculations for these observables as well. I will do this by way of several examples: the pion and nucleon form factors and moments of the nucleon parton and generalized-parton distributions.
Nonperturbative QCD corrections are important to many low-energy electroweak observables, for example the muon magnetic moment. However, hadronic corrections also play a significant role at much higher energies due to their impact on the running of s
tandard model parameters, such as the electromagnetic coupling. Currently, these hadronic contributions are accounted for by a combination of experimental measurements, effective field theory techniques and phenomenological modeling but ideally should be calculated from first principles. Recent developments indicate that many of the most important hadronic corrections may be feasibly calculated using lattice QCD methods. To illustrate this, we will examine the lattice computation of the leading-order QCD corrections to the muon magnetic moment, paying particular attention to a recently developed method but also reviewing the results from other calculations. We will then continue with several examples that demonstrate the potential impact of the new approach: the leading-order corrections to the electron and tau magnetic moments, the running of the electromagnetic coupling, and a class of the next-to-leading-order corrections for the muon magnetic moment. Along the way, we will mention applications to the Adler function, which can be used to determine the strong coupling constant, and QCD corrections to muonic-hydrogen.
As algorithms and computing power have advanced, lattice QCD has become a precision technique for many QCD observables. However, the calculation of nucleon matrix elements remains an open challenge. I summarize the status of the lattice effort by exa
mining one observable that has come to represent this challenge, average-x: the fraction of the nucleons momentum carried by its quark constituents. Recent results confirm a long standing tendency to overshoot the experimentally measured value. Understanding this puzzle is essential to not only the lattice calculation of nucleon properties but also the broader effort to determine hadron structure from QCD.
We calculate the leading-order hadronic correction to the anomalous magnetic moments of each of the three charged leptons in the Standard Model: the electron, muon and tau. Working in two-flavor lattice QCD, we address essentially all sources of syst
ematic error: lattice artifacts, finite-size effects, quark-mass extrapolation, momentum extrapolation and disconnected diagrams. The most significant remaining systematic error, the exclusion of the strange and charm quark contributions, will be addressed in our four-flavor calculation. We achieve a statistical accuracy of 2% or better for the physical values for each of the three leptons and the systematic errors are at most comparable.
We calculate the leading order hadronic contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment using twisted mass lattice QCD. The pion masses range from 330 MeV to 650 MeV. We use two lattice spacings, a=0.079 fm and 0.063 fm, to study lattice artifacts
. Finite-size effects are studied for two values of the pion mass, and we calculate the disconnected contributions for four ensembles. Particular attention is paid to the dominant contributions of the vector mesons, both phenomenologically and from our lattice calculation.
Lattice QCD calculations of hadron structure are a valuable complement to many experimental programs as well as an indispensable tool to understand the dynamics of QCD. I present a focused review of a few representative topics chosen to illustrate bo
th the challenges and advances of our community: the momentum fraction, axial charge and charge radius of the nucleon. I will discuss the current status of these calculations and speculate on the prospects for accurate calculations of hadron structure from lattice QCD.
We calculate the vacuum polarization tensor for pion masses from 480 MeV to 270 MeV using dynamical twisted mass fermions at a lattice spacing of 0.086 fm. We analyze the form of the polarization tensor on the lattice using the symmetries of twisted
QCD and we study both finite size effects and lattice artifacts at a pion mass of 310 MeV. Results for the lowest order hadronic contribution to g-2 are presented and the impact of systematic errors is discussed.
