In the epsilon-regime of lattice QCD one can get an accurate measurement of the pion decay constant F_pi by monitoring how just one single Dirac operator eigenvalue splits into two when subjected to two different external vector sources. Because we choose imaginary chemical potentials our Dirac eigenvalues remain real. Based on the relevant chiral Random Two-Matrix Theory we derive individual eigenvalue distributions in terms of density correlations functions to leading order in the finite-volume epsilon-expansion. As a simple byproduct we also show how the associated individual Dirac eigenvalue distributions and their correlations can be computed directly from the effective chiral Lagrangian.
We study the effect of topology for a random matrix model of QCD at nonzero imaginary chemical potential or nonzero temperature. Non-universal fluctuations of Dirac eigenvalues lead to normalization factors that contribute to the $θ$-dependence of the partition function. These normalization factors have to be canceled in order to reproduce the $θ$-dependence of the QCD partition function. The reason for this behavior is that the topological domain of the Dirac spectrum (the region of the Dirac spectrum that is sensitive to the topological charge) extends beyond the microscopic domain at nonzer…
We test the reliability of the the Polyakov-loop extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model, comparing the model result with the lattice data at nonzero imaginary chemical potential. The PNJL model with the vector-type four-quark and scalar-type eight-quark interactions reproduces the lattice data on the pseudocritical temperatures of the deconfinement and chiral phase transitions. The QCD phase diagram in the real chemical potential region is predicted by the PNJL model. The critical endpoint survives, even if the vector-type four-quark interaction is taken into account.
We present the comparison of the analytical microscopic spectral density for lattice QCD with $N_{\rm f}=2$ twisted mass fermions with the one obtained on the lattice utilizing configurations produced by the ETM collaboration. We extract estimates for the chiral condensate as well as the low-energy constant $W_8$ of Wilson $χ$-PT by employing spectral information of the Wilson Dirac operator with fixed index at finite volume.
A numerical technique is proposed for an efficient numerical determination of the average phase factor of the fermionic determinant continued to imaginary values of the chemical potential. The method is tested in QCD with eight flavors of dynamical staggered fermions. A direct check of the validity of analytic continuation is made on small lattices and a study of the scaling with the lattice volume is performed.
We solve a new chiral Random Two-Matrix Theory by means of biorthogonal polynomials for any matrix size $N$. By deriving the relevant kernels we find explicit formulas for all $(n,k)$-point spectral (mixed or unmixed) correlation functions. In the microscopic limit we find the corresponding scaling functions, and thus derive all spectral correlators in this limit as well. We extend these results to the ordinary (non-chiral) ensembles, and also there provide explicit solutions for any finite size $N$, and in the microscopic scaling limit. Our results give the general analytical expressions for …
We compute the chiral condensate in 2+1-flavor QCD through the spectrum of low-lying eigenmodes of Dirac operator. The number of eigenvalues of the Dirac operator is evaluated using a stochastic method with an eigenvalue filtering technique on the background gauge configurations generated by lattice QCD simulations including the effects of dynamical up, down and strange quarks described by the Mobius domain-wall fermion formulation. The low-lying spectrum is related to the chiral condensate, which is one of the leading order low-energy constants in chiral effective theory, as dictated by the B…
We investigate the eigenvalue spectrum of the staggered Dirac matrix in two color QCD at finite chemical potential. The profiles of complex eigenvalues close to the origin are compared to a complex generalization of the chiral Gaussian Symplectic Ensemble, confirming its predictions for weak and strong non-Hermiticity. They differ from the QCD symmetry class with three colors by a level repulsion from both the real and imaginary axis.
We consider non-Hermitian Dirac operators in QCD-like theories coupled to a chiral U(1) potential or an imaginary chiral chemical potential. We show that in the continuum they fall into the recently discovered universality classes AI$^\dagger$ or AII$^\dagger$ of random matrix theory if the fermions transform in pseudoreal or real representations of the gauge group, respectively. For staggered fermions on the lattice this correspondence is reversed. We verify our predictions by computing spacing ratios of complex eigenvalues, whose distribution is universal without the need for unfolding.
We calculate the chiral condensate of QCD with 2, 2+1 and 3 flavors of sea quarks. Lattice QCD simulations are performed employing dynamical overlap fermions with up and down quark masses covering a range between 3 and 100 MeV. On L ~ 1.8-1.9 fm lattices at a lattice spacing ~ 0.11 fm, we calculate the eigenvalue spectrum of the overlap-Dirac operator. By matching the lattice data with the analytical prediction from chiral perturbation theory at the next-to-leading order, the chiral condensate in the massless limit of up and down quarks is determined.
In contrast to its counterpart in a vector theory, the effective action of a chiral gauge theory may have a non-vanishing imaginary part. It consists of the so-called Chern-Simons form, which encodes the anomaly and a gauge invariant piece related to the eta-invariant of some extended Dirac operator. We investigate the imaginary part of the effective action in the 4D chiral U(1) theory within the continuum fermion approach. Perturbative analysis indicates in general a non-vanishing imaginary part of the effective action. However, after anomaly cancellation we find only a small value of the ima…
The chiral Dirac determinant is calculated using the overlap formalism of Narayanan and Neuberger. We compare the real and imaginary parts of the determinant with the continuum result for perturbative gauge field backgrounds and show that they are identical. Thus we find that the overlap formalism passes a crucial test.
The quark number density at finite imaginary chemical potential is investigated in the lattice QCD using the Dirac-mode expansion. We find the analytical formula of the quark number density in terms of the Polyakov loop in the large quark mass regime. On the other hand, in the small quark mass region, the quark number density is investigated by using the quenched lattice QCD simulation. The quark number density is found to strongly depend on the low-lying Dirac modes while its sign does not change. This result leads to that the quark number holonomy is not sensitive to the low-lying Dirac mode…
The eigenvalues of the Dirac operator at finite volume encode whether or not chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken in a massless theory. We apply this framework in a particular BSM context, namely SU(3) gauge theory with N_f=2 massless flavors in the 2-index symmetric (sextet) representation. Our first results are at a single lattice spacing. We find that both the density of near-zero eigenvalues and the renormalization group invariant mode number indicate spontaneous symmetry breaking. Quantitatively, there is a discrepancy between the determination of the fermion condensate in the chiral l…
We derive an analytical expression for the distribution of the k-th smallest Dirac eigenvalue in QCD with imaginary isospin chemical potential in the Dirac operator. Because of its dependence on the pion decay constant F through the chemical potential in the epsilon-regime of chiral perturbation theory this can be used for lattice determinations of that low-energy constant. On the technical side we use a chiral Random-Two Matrix Theory, where we express the k-th eigenvalue distribution through the joint probability of the ordered k smallest eigenvalues. The latter can be computed exactly for f…
We discuss the eigenvalue distribution of the overlap Dirac operator in quenched QCD on lattices of size 8^{4}, 10^{4} and 12^{4} at β= 5.85 and β= 6. We distinguish the topological sectors and study the distributions of the leading non-zero eigenvalues, which are stereographically mapped onto the imaginary axis. Thus they can be compared to the predictions of random matrix theory applied to the ε-expansion of chiral perturbation theory. We find a satisfactory agreement, if the physical volume exceeds about (1.2 fm)^{4}. For the unfolded level spacing distribution we find an accurate agreement…
We consider the chiral limit of QCD subjected to an imaginary isospin chemical potential. In the epsilon-regime of the theory we can perform precise analytical calculations based on the zero-momentum Goldstone modes in the low-energy effective theory. We present results for the spectral correlation functions of the associated Dirac operators.
We present a new staggered discretization of the Dirac operator. In comparison with standard staggered fermions, real and imaginary parts are located in different nodes. Doubling gives only a doublet of Dirac fermions which we propose to interpret as a physical (lepton or quark) doublet. Contrary to usual staggered fermions, we have no exact chiral symmetry but obtain a generalization of the Ginsparg-Wilson relation.
We investigate the quark number density at finite imaginary chemical potential by using the Dirac-mode expansion. In the large quark mass region, it is found that the quark number density can be expressed by the Polyakov loop and its conjugate in all order of the large quark mass expansion. Then, there are no specific Dirac-modes which dominantly contribute to the quark number density. In comparison, the small quark mass region is explored by using the quenched lattice QCD simulation. We found that the absolute value of the quark number density strongly depends on the low-lying Dirac-modes, bu…
The method of analytic continuation from imaginary to real chemical potentials $μ$ is one of the few available techniques to study QCD at finite temperature and baryon density. One of its most appealing applications is the determination of the critical line for small $μ$: we perform a direct test of the validity of the method in this case by studying two-color QCD, where the sign problem is absent. The (pseudo)critical line is found to be analytic around $μ^2 = 0$, but a very large precision would be needed at imaginary $μ$ to correctly predict the location of the critical line at real $μ$.
We study QCD thermodynamics in presence of two independent imaginary chemical potentials coupled to two degenerate flavors of staggered quarks. Analytic continuation is used to determine non-linear susceptibilities, to test the Hadron Resonance Gas (HRG) model below the zero density critical temperature, Tc, and to determine the average phase factor of the fermion determinant. Deviations from HRG predictions, of the order of a few percent, are clearly visible for temperatures T > 0.95 Tc. The determination of non-linear susceptibilities, using different interpolating functions for analytic con…
We determine the (pseudo)critical lines of QCD with two degenerate staggered fermions at nonzero temperature and quark or isospin density, in the region of imaginary chemical potentials; analytic continuation is then used to prolongate to the region of real chemical potentials. We obtain an accurate determination of the curvatures at zero chemical potential, quantifying the deviation between the case of finite quark and of finite isospin chemical potential. Deviations from a quadratic dependence of the pseudocritical lines on the chemical potential are clearly seen in both cases: we try differ…
Dirac operator eigenvalues split into two when subjected to two different external vector sources. In a specific finite-volume scaling regime of gauge theories with fermions, this problem can be mapped to a chiral Random Two-Matrix Theory. We derive analytical expressions to leading order in the associated finite-volume expansion, showing how individual Dirac eigenvalue distributions and their correlations equivalently can be computed directly from the effective chiral Lagrangian in the epsilon-regime. Because of its equivalence to chiral Random Two-Matrix Theory, we use the latter for all exp…
In non-Hermitian random matrix theory there are three universality classes for local spectral correlations: the Ginibre class and the nonstandard classes $\mathrm{AI}^\dagger$ and $\mathrm{AII}^\dagger$. We show that the continuum Dirac operator in two-color QCD coupled to a chiral $\mathrm{U}(1)$ gauge field or an imaginary chiral chemical potential falls in class $\mathrm{AI}^\dagger$ ($\mathrm{AII}^\dagger$) for fermions in pseudoreal (real) representations of $\mathrm{SU}(2)$. We introduce the corresponding chiral random matrix theories and verify our predictions in lattice simulations wit…
We present here the results from an ongoing determination of the critical quark mass in simulations of (2+1)-flavor QCD with an imaginary chemical potential. Studies with unimproved actions found the existence of a critical quark mass value at which the crossover transition ends on a second order phase transition and becomes first order for smaller values of the quark mass for the case of both vanishing and imaginary chemical potential. We use the Highly Improved Staggered Quark (HISQ) action and perform calculations in the Roberge-Weiss (RW) plane, where the value of the critical mass is expe…
