Axial anomaly in quantum electro- and chromodynamics and the structure of the vacuum in quantum chromodynamics
B. L. Ioffe
备注：
13 pages, 3 figures Report at the Session of the Physical Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, devoted to 100 years L.D.Landau birthday, 22-23 January 2008. Published in Uspekhi Fizichescikh Nauk, 178 (2008) 647 (Physics - Uspekhi, in press). Minor changes - acknowledgements are added
In this report, I discuss the current state of the problem of the axial anomaly in quantum electrodynamics (QED) and quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and how the axial anomaly is related to the structure of the vacuum in QCD. In QCD, the vacuum average of the axial anomaly is proportional to a new quantum number n, the winding number. The axial anomaly condition implies that there are zero modes of the Dirac equation for a massless quark and that there is spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry in QCD, which leads to the formation of a quark condensate. The axial anomaly can be represented in the form of a sum rule the structure function in the dispersion representation of the axial -- vector -- vector (AVV) vertex. On the basis of this sum rule, it is calculated the width of the π^0\to 2γdecay with an accuracy of 1.5%. It is demonstrated, that 't Hooft conjecture -- the singularities of the amplitudes calculated in perturbative QCD on quark-gluon basis should reproduce themselves in calculations on the hadrons basis -- is not fulfilled generally.
We illustrate how an axial asymmetry in impact parameter dependent parton distributions can give rise to an axial asymmetry for the transverse momentum of the leading quark in the photo-production of hadrons. The effect is related to the asymmetry originating from the Wilson-line phase factor in gauge invariant Sivers distributions. The single spin asymmetry arising from the asymmetry of the impact parameter dependent parton distributions is shown to exhibit a pure $\sin ϕ$ dependence.
The axial charges of the nucleon and the well-established N* resonances are studied within a consistent framework. For the first time the axial charges of the N* resonances are produced for the relativistic constituent quark model. The axial charge of the nucleon is predicted close to experiment, and the ones of N*(1535) and N*(1650), the only cases where such a comparison is possible, agree well with results from quantum chromodynamics on the lattice that have recently become available. The relevance of the magnitudes of the N* axial charges for the low-energy behavior of quantum chromodynami…
The $\textit{axial coupling of the nucleon}$, $g_A$, is the strength of its coupling to the $\textit{weak}$ axial current of the Standard Model of particle physics, in much the same way as the electric charge is the strength of the coupling to the electromagnetic current. This axial coupling dictates the rate at which neutrons decay to protons, the strength of the attractive long-range force between nucleons and other features of nuclear physics. Precision tests of the Standard Model in nuclear environments require a quantitative understanding of nuclear physics rooted in Quantum Chromodynamic…
We calculate the renormalization group flows of all perturbatively renormalizable interactions in the three-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau potential for the chiral phase transition of three-flavor quantum chromodynamics. On the contrary to the common belief we find a fixed point in the system that is able to describe a second-order phase transition in the infrared. This shows that long-standing assumptions on the transition order might be false. If the transition is indeed of second-order, our results may hint that the axial $U(1)$ symmetry restores at the transition temperature.
We offer a diagrammatic derivation of the effective masses of the axial flavor excitations in the electrical and color neutral CFL phase of QCD. In particular we concentrate on the excitations with the quantum numbers of the kaons: we show how their effective chemical potentials, responsible of their Bose-Einstein condensation and found previously on the basis of pure symmetry arguments, arise at the microscopic level by loop effects. We perform also the numerical evaluation of the relevant loops in the whole CFL regime $M_s^2/2μΔ\leqslant 1$, showing the existence of the enhancement of the ka…
This study proposes that the longstanding problems of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) as an SU(3)_C gauge theory, the confinement mechanism and Θvacuum, can be resolved by dynamical spontaneous symmetry breaking (DSSB) through the condensation of singlet gluons and quantum nucleardynamics (QND) as an SU(2)_N \times U(1)_Z gauge theory is produced. The confinement mechanism is the result of massive gluons and the Yukawa potential provides hadron formation. The evidences for the breaking of discrete symmetries (C, P, T, CP) during DSSB appear explicitly: baryons and mesons without their parity part…
We provide the $\bar{\mathrm{MS}}$ factor of the renormalization constant of the singlet axial-current operator in dimensional regularization at $\mathcal{O}(α_s^5)$ in perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). The result is obtained from a formula derived using the Adler-Bell-Jackiw equation in terms of renormalized operators. The required input consists of the complete four-loop results for operator renormalization constants obtained by explicit diagrammatic computation in a previous publication.
A lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) calculation of the nuclear matrix element relevant to the $nn\to ppee\overlineν_e\overlineν_e$ transition is described in detail, expanding on the results presented in Ref. [1]. This matrix element, which involves two insertions of the weak axial current, is an important input for phenomenological determinations of double-$β$ decay rates of nuclei. From this exploratory study, performed using unphysical values of the quark masses, the long-distance deuteron-pole contribution to the matrix element is separated from shorter-distance hadronic contributions.…
We analyze the phase diagram of hot quark matter in presence of an axial chemical potential, $μ_5$. The latter is introduced to mimic the chirality transitions induced, in hot Quantum Chromodynamics, by the strong sphaleron configurations. In particular, we study the curvature of the critical line at small $μ_5$, the effects of a finite quark mass and of a vector interaction. Moreover, we build the mixed phase at the first order phase transition line, and draw the phase diagram in the chiral density and temperature plane. We finally compute the full topological susceptibility in presence of a …
It has been previously shown that a particular nonperturbative constituent-quark model of hadrons describes experimental measurements of electromagnetic form factors of light charged mesons through a small number of common phenomenological parameters, matching at the same time the Quantum-Chromodynamics (QCD) asymptotics for the pi-meson form factor at large momentum transfer. Here we start with the determination of the K0 electromagnetic form factor in this approach. Precise measurement of the K0 charge radius makes it possible to constrain model parameters with high accuracy. Then, with all …
We show by explicit construction of an alternative theory for the strong interactions that it cannot be distinguished from QCD by any of the usual precision tests except on extending these theories to the full electroweak theory, by the Z- particle width.
In this paper we consider the matching coefficients up to two loops between Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and Non-Relativistic QCD (NRQCD) for the vector, axial-vector, scalar and pseudo-scalar currents. The structure of the effective theory is discussed and analytical results are presented. Particular emphasis is put on the singlet diagrams.
We adopt a non-perturbative relativistic constituent-quark model for the pi-meson electromagnetic form factor, which have successfully predicted experimental results, and supplement it with the effective momentum-dependent quark mass to study quantitatively the transition to the perturbative QCD asymptotics. The required asymptotical behaviour (including both the Q^{-2} fall-off and the correct coefficient) settles down automatically when the quark mass is switched off; however, the present experimental data on the form factor suggest that this cannot happen at the values of the momentum trans…
The Broadhurst-Kataev conjecture, that the ``discrepancy'' in the connection with the $π^0 \to γγ$ anomaly equals the beta function $β(\barα)$ times a power series in the effective coupling $\barα$, is proven to all orders of perturbative quantum chromodynamics. The use of nested short-distance expansions is justified via Weinberg's power-counting theorem.
In quantum chromodynamics (QCD), axial charge is known to be non-conserved due to chiral anomaly and non-vanishing quark mass. In this paper, we explore the role of quark mass in axial charge fluctuation and dissipation. We present two separate calculations of axial charge correlator, which describe dynamics of axial charge. The first is free quarks at finite temperature. We find that axial charge can be generated through effective quantum fluctuations in free theory. However the fluctuation does not follow a random walk behavior. Due to the presence of axial symmetry breaking mass term, the a…
This PhD Thesis is mainly devoted to the study of hadronic matrix elements of kaons. Its inner structure can be divided in three parts. In Chapter 3 we address the issue of quantum corrections in Resonance Chiral Lagrangians with the aid of the 1/N_c expansion. We compute, as an illustrative example, the coupling L_10 to one loop. Chapters 4 and 5 are the main body of the present work and deal with the determination of the relevant parameters in kaon phenomenology. We give a value for the invariant B_K, the kaon mass difference and ε_K in a model-independent way, paying special attention to th…
In this work we apply Thompson's method (of the dimensions and scales) to study some features of the Quantum Electro and Chromodynamics. This heuristic method can be considered as a simple and alternative way to the Renormalisation Group (R.G.) approach and when applied to QED-lagrangian is able to obtain in a first approximation both the running coupling constant behavior of alpha(mu) and the mass m(mu).The calculations are evaluated just at d_c=4, where d_c is the upper critical dimension of the problem, so that we obtain the logarithmic behavior both for the coupling alpha and the excess of…
The transition in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) from hadronic matter to the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) at high temperatures and/or net-baryon densities is associated with the restoration of chiral symmetry and can be investigated in the laboratory via heavy-ion collisions. We study this chiral transition within the functional renormalization group (FRG) approach applied to the two-flavor version of the extended Linear Sigma Model (eLSM). The eLSM is an effective model for the strong interaction and features besides scalar and pseudoscalar degrees of freedom also vector and axial- vector mesons. W…
The claim by Haberzettl (Phys.Rev.Lett.85 (2000) 3576) that the axial form factor of the nucleon cannot be accessed through threshold pion electroproduction is unfounded.
The relativistic constituent quark model of low-energy quantum chromodynamics is found to yield a consistent picture of the electroweak structure of the nucleons. Notably, the electromagnetic and axial form factors of both the proton and the neutron can be described in close agreement with existing experimental data in the domain of low to moderate momentum transfers. For the theory it is mandatory to respect Poincare invariance and to fulfill additional conditions like charge normalization. Here we present covariant predictions of the one-gluon-exchange and Goldstone-boson-exchange constituen…
Broad meson phenomenology in vacuum is discussed in a single model containing scalar, pseudoscalar, vector and axial-vector states both in the non-strange and strange sectors. Emphasis is given to search for quark-antiquark (quarkonium) states in the scalar and axial-vector channels. In particular, the work examines the question whether the scalar quark-antiquark states are found in the energy region below or above 1 GeV in the physical spectrum. Contrarily to the naive expectation, the mentioned states are found in the region above 1 GeV. Additionally, the axial-vector isotriplet state $a_1(1…
We discuss electro-magnetic and weak production of pions on nucleons and show how results of experiments and their interpretation in terms of chiral quark models with explicit meson degrees of freedom combine to reveal the ground-state axial form factors and axial N-Delta transition amplitudes.
Differences between vector potentials in different gauges contain no dynamics in both classical and quantum electrodynamics and chromodynamics. Consequently, once gauge invariance is established, results calculated in non-covariant gauges can be expected to agree with results obtained in covariant gauges in all Lorentz frames. We show in particular that canonical quantization in the Coulomb gauge can be used without giving up explicit gauge invariance. Quantization in the Coulomb gauge is particularly simple because it involves only the two transverse photons/gluons present in all gauges. Thes…
We use the BLM method to show that perturbatively-calculable observables in QCD can be related to each other without renormalization scale or scheme ambiguity. We define and study the commensurate scale relations. We show that the commensurate scales satisfy the renormalization group transitivity rule which ensures that predictions in PQCD are independent of the choice of an intermediate renormalization scheme. We generalize the BLM procedure to higher order. The application of this procedure to relate known physical observables in QCD gives surprisingly simple results. In particular, the anni…
We apply the finite-element lattice equations of motion for quantum electrodynamics given in the first paper in this series to examine anomalies in the current operators. By taking explicit lattice divergences of the vector and axial-vector currents we compute the vector and axial-vector anomalies in two and four dimensions. We examine anomalous commutators of the currents to compute divergent and finite Schwinger terms. And, using free lattice propagators, we compute the vacuum polarization in two dimensions and hence the anomaly in the Schwinger model. A discussion of our choice of gauge-inv…
We construct the electromagnetic anomaly effective term for a generalized linear sigma model with two chiral nonets, one with a quark-antiquark structure, the other one with a four quark content. We compute in the leading order of this framework the decays into two photons of six pseudoscalars: $π_0(137)$, $π_0(1300)$, $η(547)$, $η(958)$, $η(1295)$ and $η(1760)$. Our results agree well with the available experimental data.
Manifestations of strong and electromagnetic axial anomalies in two-photon decays of $η$ and $η'$ mesons are studied. Applying dispersive approach to axial anomaly in the singlet current, we obtain an anomaly sum rule containing strong and electromagnetic anomaly contributions. The relevant low energy theorem was generalized to the case of mixed states and used to evaluate the subtraction constant of the strong anomaly-related form factor $\langle 0 |G\tilde{G} |γγ\rangle$. We made a numerical estimation of the contributions of gluon and electromagnetic anomalies to the two-photon decays of $η…
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the quantum field theory of strong interactions, is highly nonpertubative in the low-energy sector, where confinement dominates and resonance phenomena are observed. Therefore, phenomenological unquenched models based on the old ideas of the $\mathcal{S}$-matrix theory give a fundamental contribution to understand the complex pattern of masses, widths and shapes of experimentally observed meson resonances. In the present thesis we employ the Resonance-Spectrum-Expansion coupled-channel model to study two enigmatic meson states, the isoscalar vector $ϕ(2170)$ and t…
In the present work we study the effect of the scalar spin coupling of constituent quarks on the nucleon electroweak properties by introducing a valence light-front wave function with two momentum scales. By comparing the results obtained with the one scale and two scale wave function models, we have found that the last one has shown a reasonable description of the static observables and $μ_pG_{Ep}/G_{Mp}$ ratio in which the position of the zero appears around 10~[GeV/c]$^2$ or for higher squared momentum transfers. We have also shown results for the axial-vector coupling $g_{A}$ and the nucle…
The hard exclusive electroproduction of $π^0,η,η'$ mesons by the longitudinal photons is considered. We calculate the ratios of the $π^0 : η: η'$ yields for the electroproduction processes off nucleons and deuterons based on the QCD factorization theorem, the low energy QCD chiral dynamics, and the QCD anomaly. Thus investigation of these ratios gives a new way to probe the physics of the spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking.
Results for the proton and neutron electric and magnetic form factors as well as the nucleon axial form factor are presented for constituent quark models, based on either one-gluon-exchange and Goldstone-boson-exchange dynamics. The calculations are performed in a covariant framework using the point-form approach to relativistic quantum mechanics. The only input to the calculations is the nucleon wave function of the corresponding constituent quark model. A comparison is given to results of the instanton-induced constituent quark model treated with the Bethe-Salpeter equation.
We discuss a number of novel applications of Quantum Chromodynamics to nuclear structure and dynamics, such as the reduced amplitude formalism for exclusive nuclear amplitudes. We particularly emphasize the importance of light-cone Hamiltonian and Fock State methods as a tool for describing the wavefunctions of composite relativistic many-body systems and their interactions. We also show that the use of covariant kinematics leads to nontrivial corrections to the standard formulae for the axial, magnetic, and quadrupole moments of nucleons and nuclei.
The axial charge of the triton is investigated using lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Extending previous work at heavier quark masses, calculations are performed using three ensembles of gauge field configurations generated with quark masses corresponding to a pion mass of 450 MeV. Finite-volume energy levels for the triton, as well as for the deuteron and diproton systems, are extracted from analysis of correlation functions computed on these ensembles, and the corresponding energies are extrapolated to infinite volume using finite-volume pionless effective field theory (FVEFT). It is fo…
We examine the effect of quantum longitudinal rescaling of coordinates, on the action of quantum chromodynamics (with quarks) to one loop. We use an aspherical Wilsonian integration (previously applied to the pure Yang-Mills theory and to quantum electrodynamics). Quantum fluctuations produce anomalous powers of the rescaling parameter in the coefficients of the rescaled action. Our results are valid for small rescalings only, because perturbation theory breaks down for large rescalings.
We investigate the leptonic decay constants of the pion and its excitations with a 5-d holographic model for quantum chromodynamics. We prove numerically that the leptonic decay constants of the excited states of the pion vanish in the chiral limit when chiral symmetry is dynamically broken. This nontrivial result is in agreement with a solid prediction of quantum chromodynamics and is based on a generalized Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner relationship involving the decay constants and masses of the excited states of the pion. We also obtain an extended partially conserved axial-vector current relation…
A fundamental question in QCD is the non-perturbative structure of hadrons at the amplitude level--not just the single-particle flavor, momentum, and helicity distributions of the quark constituents, but also the multi-quark, gluonic, and hidden-color correlations intrinsic to hadronic and nuclear wavefunctions. The light-cone Fock-state representation of QCD encodes the properties of a hadrons in terms of frame-independent wavefunctions. A number of applications are discussed, including semileptonic B decays, deeply virtual Compton scattering, and dynamical higher twist effects in inclusive r…
Single top quark production in electron photon interactions provides a clean environment for the measurement of the Cabbibo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element Vtb. Aiming an experimental precision at the percent level the knowledge of radiative corrections is important. In this paper we present results for the radiative corrections in quantum chromodynamics.
The nuclear matrix element determining the $pp\to d e^+ ν$ fusion cross section and the Gamow-Teller matrix element contributing to tritium $β$-decay are calculated with lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) for the first time. Using a new implementation of the background field method, these quantities are calculated at the SU(3)-flavor-symmetric value of the quark masses, corresponding to a pion mass of $m_π$ ~ 806 MeV. The Gamow-Teller matrix element in tritium is found to be 0.979(03)(10) at these quark masses, which is within $2σ$ of the experimental value. Assuming that the short-distance …
The possible connection between High-T$_c$ superconductivity and quantum chromodynamics is considered that is based on two interacting Ginzburg-Landau equations. For High-T$_c$ superconductivity these two equations describe Cooper electrons interacting with different kind of quasi particles (phonons, magnons, excitons and so on). The interaction term describes a possible interaction between different kind of quasi particles. For quantum chromodynamics the equations describe two kinds of gauge condensates. The condensates describe a gauge potential from a subalgebra of the SU(3) gauge group and…
We systematically derive the collision term for the axial kinetic theory, a quantum kinetic theory delineating the coupled dynamics of the vector/axial charges and spin transport carried by the massive spin-1/2 fermions traversing a medium. We employ the Wigner-function approach and propose a consistent power-counting scheme where the axial-charge distribution function, a non-conserved quantity for massive particles, is accounted as the first-order quantity in the $ \hbar $ expansion, while the vector-charge distribution function the zeroth-order quantity. This specific power-counting scheme a…
We discuss recent progress in studying Quantum Chromodynamics at finite temperature using $N_f=2+1+1$ Wilson twisted mass fermions. Particular interest is in QCD symmetries and their breaking and restoration. First, we discuss the behaviour of the $η'$ meson at finite temperature, which is tightly connected to the axial and chiral symmetries. The results suggest a small decrease of the $η'$ mass in the pseudo-critical region coming close to the non-anomalous contribution and subsequent growth at large temperatures. Second, we present the first results of lattice simulations of Quantum Chromody…
We present an analysis of the three-flavor holographic model of QCD associated to a $D4/D8$ brane configuration, with symmetry breaking induced by a worldsheet instanton associated to a closed loop connecting $D4-D8-D6-\overline{D8}$. We calculate the electromagnetic and axial couplings of all octet and decuplet baryons, as well as several negative parity excitations, with and without symmetry breaking effects, and demonstrate qualitative and quantitative agreement with many available experimental measurements, with marked improvement over the analogous two-flavor models.
We show a relationship between elastic electron scattering observables and the elastic neutrino cross section that provides a straightforward determination of the latter from experimental data of the former and relates their uncertainties. An illustration of this procedure is presented using a Hartree-Fock mean field for the nuclear structure of a set of even-even nuclear targets, using the spectra of the neutrinos produced in pion decay at rest. We also analyze the prospects to measure the incoherent axial contribution to the neutrino elastic scattering in odd targets.
The binding energies of a range of nuclei and hypernuclei with atomic number A <= 4 and strangeness |s| <= 2, including the deuteron, di-neutron, H-dibaryon, 3He, Lambda 3He, Lambda 4He, and Lambda Lambda 4He, are calculated in the limit of flavor-SU(3) symmetry at the physical strange quark mass with quantum chromodynamics (without electromagnetic interactions). The nuclear states are extracted from Lattice QCD calculations performed with n_f=3 dynamical light quarks using an isotropic clover discretization of the quark-action in three lattice volumes of spatial extent L ~ 3.4 fm, 4.5 fm and …
The chiral invariant QHD-III model of Serot and Walecka is applied in the calculation of some meson properties. The electromagnetic interaction is included by extending the symmetry of the model to the local U(1) \times SU(2)_{R} \times SU(2)_{L} group. The minimal and nonminimal contributions to the electromagnetic Lagrangian are obtained in a new representation of QHD-III. Strong decays of the axial-vector meson, a_{1} \to πρ, a_{1} \to πσ, and the electromagnetic decays ρ\to ππγ, a_{1} \to πγand ρ\to πγare calculated. The low-energy parameters for the π-πscattering are calculated in the tre…
Lattice results on the N to Delta electromagnetic, axial-vector and pseudoscalar form factors are evaluated using dynamical staggered sea quarks and domain wall valence quarks for pion masses in the range of 580-350 MeV, as well as, dynamical and quenched Wilson fermions for similar pion masses.
The CPT odd contribution to the effective electromagnetic action deriving from the vacuum polarization tensor in a large class of fermionic systems exhibiting Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) is calculated using thermal field theory methods, focusing upon corrections depending on the chemical potential. The systems considered exhibit the axial anomaly and their effective actions are described by axion electrodynamics whereby all the LIV parameters enter in the coupling $Θ(x)$ to the unmodified Pontryagin density. A preliminary application to type-I tilted Weyl semimetals is briefly presented…
The gluonic contributions to the conventional PCAC formulas due to flavor singlet axial anomaly have been instrumental in explaining the mass of the $η^{\prime}$ and providing a plausible explanation for solving the spin crisis. We show that they also play an important role in the description of photo- and electroproduction of vector mesons at low energy and high momentum transfers. We calculate the contributions of this type to $ϕ$ meson electromagnetic production in a model, which contains also a soft pomeron, and find agreement with recent CLAS data.
We review lattice studies of the color screening in the quark-gluon plasma. We put the phenomena related to the color screening into the context of similar aspects of other physical systems (electromagnetic plasma or cold nuclear matter). We discuss the onset of the color screening and its signature and significance in the QCD transition region, and elucidate at which temperature and to which extent the weak-coupling picture based on hard thermal loop expansion, potential nonrelativistic QCD, or dimensionally-reduced QCD quantitatively captures the key properties of the color screening. We dis…
Quantum chromodynamics is needed to understand quarks and, hence, to determine the quarks' Yukawa couplings from experimental measurements. As a short illustration, the results of three lattice calculations are given.
