Dirac spectrum of one-flavor QCD at theta=0 and continuity of the chiral condensate

We derive exact analytical expressions for the spectral density of the Dirac operator at fixed theta-angle in the microscopic domain of one-flavor QCD. These results are obtained by performing the sum over topological sectors using novel identities involving sums of products of Bessel functions. Because the fermion determinant is not positive definite for negative quark mass, the usual Banks-Casher relation is not valid and has to be replaced by a different mechanism first observed for QCD at nonzero chemical potential. Using the exact results for the spectral density we explain how this mechanism results in a chiral condensate that remains constant when the quark mass changes sign.

Progress on the Microscopic Spectrum of the Dirac Operator for QCD with Wilson Fermions

Starting from the chiral Lagrangian for Wilson fermions at nonzero lattice spacing we have obtained compact expressions for all spectral correlation functions of the Hermitian Wilson Dirac operator in the $epsilon$-domain of QCD with dynamical quarks. We have also obtained the distribution of the chiralities over the real eigenvalues of the Wilson Dirac operator for any number of flavors. All results have been derived for a fixed index of the Dirac operator. An important effect of dynamical quarks is that they completely suppress the inverse square root singularity in the spectral density of the Hermitian Wilson Dirac operator. The analytical results are given in terms of an integral over a diffusion kernel for which the square of the lattice spacing plays the role of time. This approach greatly simplifies the expressions which we here reduce to the evaluation of two-dimensional integrals.

Handbook Article on Applications of Random Matrix Theory to QCD

In this chapter of the Oxford Handbook of Random Matrix Theory we introduce chiral Random Matrix Theories with the global symmetries of QCD. In the microscopic domain, these theories reproduce the mass and chemical potential dependence of QCD. The main focus of this chapter is on the spectral properties of the QCD Dirac operator and relations between chiral Random Matrix Theories and chiral Lagrangians. Both spectra of the anti-hermitian Dirac operator and spectra of the nonhermitian Dirac operator at nonzero chemical potential are discussed.

Phase of the Fermion Determinant for QCD at Finite Chemical Potential

In this lecture we discuss various properties of the phase factor of the fermion determinant for QCD at nonzero chemical potential. Its effect on physical observables is elucidated by comparing the phase diagram of QCD and phase quenched QCD and by illustrating the failure of the Banks-Casher formula with the example of one-dimensional QCD. The average phase factor and the distribution of the phase are calculated to one-loop order in chiral perturbation theory. In quantitative agreement with lattice QCD results, we find that the distribution is Gaussian with a width $sim mu T sqrt V$ (for $m_pi ll T ll Lambda_{rm QCD}$). Finally, we introduce, so-called teflon plated observables which can be calculated accurately by Monte Carlo even though the sign problem is severe.

Lessons from Random Matrix Theory for QCD at Finite Density

In this lecture we discuss various aspects of QCD at nonzero chemical potential, including its phase diagram and the Dirac spectrum, and summarize what chiral random matrix theory has contributed to this subject. To illustrate the importance of the phase of the fermion determinant, we particularly highlight the differences between QCD and phase quenched QCD.

Statistical QCD with non-positive measure

In this talk we discuss the microscopic limit of QCD at nonzero chemical potential. In this domain, where the QCD partition function is under complete analytical control, we uncover an entirely new link between the spectral density of the Dirac operator and the chiral condensate: violent complex oscillations on the microscopic scale give rise to the discontinuity of the chiral condensate at zero quark mass. We first establish this relation exactly within a random matrix framework and then analyze the importance of the individual modes by Fourier analysis.

Chiral Condensate at Nonzero Chemical Potential in the Microscopic Limit of QCD

The chiral condensate in QCD at zero temperature does not depend on the quark chemical potential (up to one third the nucleon mass), whereas the spectral density of the Dirac operator shows a strong dependence on the chemical potential. The cancellations which make this possible also occur on the microscopic scale, where they can be investigated by means of a random matrix model. We show that they can be understood in terms of orthogonality properties of orthogonal polynomials. In the strong non-Hermiticity limit they are related to integrability properties of the spectral density. As a by-product we find exact analytical expressions for the partially quenched chiral condensate in the microscopic domain at nonzero chemical potential.

Phase Diagram of the Dirac Spectrum at Nonzero Chemical Potential

The Dirac spectrum of QCD with dynamical fermions at nonzero chemical potential is characterized by three regions, a region with a constant eigenvalue density, a region where the eigenvalue density shows oscillations that grow exponentially with the volume and the remainder of the complex plane where the eigenvalue density is zero. In this paper we derive the phase diagram of the Dirac spectrum from a chiral Lagrangian. We show that the constant eigenvalue density corresponds to a pion condensed phase while the strongly oscillating region is given by a kaon condensed phase. The normal phase with nonzero chiral condensate but vanishing Bose condensates coincides with the region of the complex plane where there are no eigenvalues.