We study full QCD at finite density and low temperature with light quark mass using the complex Langevin method. Since the singular drift problem turns out to be mild on a $4^3 \times 8$ lattice we use, the gauge cooling is performed only to control the unitarity norm in this exploratory study. We report on our preliminary data obtained from the complex Langevin simulation up to certain Langevin time. While the data are still noisy due to lack of statistics, the onset of the baryon number density seems to occur at larger $μ$ than half the pion mass, which is the value for the phase quenched QCD. The validity of our simulation is tested by the recently proposed criterion based on the probability distribution of the drift term.
We employ a new method, "gauge cooling", to stabilize complex Langevin simulations of QCD with heavy quarks. The results are checked against results obtained with reweigthing; we find agreement within the estimated errors. The method allows us to go to previously unaccessible high densities.
In the case of nonabelian gauge theories with a complex weight, a controlled exploration of the complexified configuration space during a complex Langevin process requires the use of SL(N,C) gauge cooling, in order to minimize the distance from SU(N). Here we show that adaptive gauge cooling can lead to an efficient implementation of this idea. First results for SU(3) Yang-Mills theory in the presence of a nonzero theta-term are presented as well.
QCD at nonzero baryon chemical potential suffers from the sign problem, due to the complex quark determinant. Complex Langevin dynamics can provide a solution, provided certain conditions are met. One of these conditions, holomorphicity of the Langevin drift, is absent in QCD since zeroes of the determinant result in a meromorphic drift. We first derive how poles in the drift affect the formal justification of the approach and then explore the various possibilities in simple models. The lessons from these are subsequently applied to both heavy dense QCD and full QCD, and we find that the resul…
Recently there has been remarkable progress in the complex Langevin method, which aims at solving the complex action problem by complexifying the dynamical variables in the original path integral. In particular, a new technique called the gauge cooling was introduced and the full QCD simulation at finite density has been made possible in the high temperature (deconfined) phase or with heavy quarks. Here we provide a rigorous justification of the complex Langevin method including the gauge cooling procedure. We first show that the gauge cooling can be formulated as an extra term in the complex …
We study the gauge cooling technique for the complex Langevin method applied to the computation in lattice quantum chromodynamics. We propose a new solver of the minimization problem that optimizes the gauge, which does not include any parameter in each iteration, and shows better performance than the classical gradient descent method especially when the lattice size is large. Two numerical tests are carried out to show the effectiveness of the new algorithm.
At nonzero chemical potential the numerical sign problem in lattice field theory limits the use of standard algorithms based on importance sampling. Complex Langevin dynamics provides a possible solution, but it has to be applied with care. In this review, we first summarise our current understanding of the approach, combining analytical and numerical insight. In the second part we study SL(N,C) gauge cooling, which was introduced recently as a tool to control complex Langevin dynamics in nonabelian gauge theories. We present new results in Polyakov chain models and in QCD with heavy quarks an…
Recently, the complex Langevin method has been applied successfully to finite density QCD either in the deconfinement phase or in the heavy dense limit with the aid of a new technique called the gauge cooling. In the confinement phase with light quarks, however, convergence to wrong limits occurs due to the singularity in the drift term caused by small eigenvalues of the Dirac operator including the mass term. We propose that this singular-drift problem should also be overcome by the gauge cooling with different criteria for choosing the complexified gauge transformation. The idea is tested in…
The complex Langevin method is a general method to treat systems with complex action, such as QCD at nonzero density. The formal justification relies on the absence of certain boundary terms, both at infinity and at the unavoidable poles of the drift force. Here I focus on the boundary terms at these poles for simple models, which so far have not been discussed in detail. The main result is that those boundary terms (for the "un-evolved" observables) arise after running the Langevin process for a finite time and vanish again as the Langevin time goes to infinity. This is in contrast to the bou…
The complex Langevin method aims at performing path integral with a complex action numerically based on complexification of the original real dynamical variables. One of the poorly understood issues concerns occasional failure in the presence of logarithmic singularities in the action, which appear, for instance, from the fermion determinant in finite density QCD. We point out that the failure should be attributed to the breakdown of the relation between the complex weight that satisfies the Fokker-Planck equation and the probability distribution associated with the stochastic process. In fact…
In application of the complex Langevin method to QCD at high density and low temperature, the singular-drift problem occurs due to the appearance of near-zero eigenvalues of the Dirac operator. In order to avoid this problem, we proposed to deform the Dirac operator in such a way that the near-zero eigenvalues do not appear and to extrapolate the deformation parameter to zero from the available data points. Here we test three different types of deformation in a simple large-$N$ matrix model, which undergoes an SSB due to the phase of the fermion determinant, and compare them to see the consist…
The complex Langevin method has been attracting much attention as a solution to the sign problem since the method was shown to work in finite density QCD in the deconfined phase by using the so-called gauge cooling procedure. Whether it works also in the confined phase with light quarks is still an open question, though. In order to shed light on this question, we apply the method to the chiral Random Matrix Theory, which describes the epsilon regime of finite density QCD. Earlier works reported that a naive implementation of the method fails to reproduce the known exact results and that the p…
We first test the Complex Langevin method (CLE) on various simple models. We then introduce the method of Gauge Cooling to control the dynamics of the process and ensure thin distributions in the imaginary direction. We finally apply CLE with gauge cooling to a QCD-related lattice model (HQCD) and compare the results by CLE and by a refined Reweighting method (rRW). Very good agreement is found in all regions of physical interest.
In this paper we test the complex Langevin algorithm for numerical simulations of a random matrix model of QCD with a first order phase transition to a phase of finite baryon density. We observe that a naive implementation of the algorithm leads to phase quenched results, which were also derived analytically in this article. We test several fixes for the convergence issues of the algorithm, in particular the method of gauge cooling, the shifted representation, the deformation technique and reweighted complex Langevin, but only the latter method reproduces the correct analytical results in the …
We study the Stephanov model, which is an RMT model for QCD at finite density, using the Complex Langevin algorithm. Naive implementation of the algorithm shows convergence towards the phase quenched or quenched theory rather than to intended theory with dynamical quarks. A detailed analysis of this issue and a potential resolution of the failure of this algorithm are discussed. We study the effect of gauge cooling on the Dirac eigenvalue distribution and time evolution of the norm for various cooling norms, which were specifically designed to remove the pathologies of the complex Langevin evo…
We present our latest results on the application of the complex Langevin method to one- and two-dimensional QCD. Although the method is stable, it unfortunately converges to an incorrect result when applied as such. After applying additional gauge cooling steps, the results agree with the known analytical results in the one-dimensional case. However, in the two-dimensional case the disagreement subsists, even with gauge cooling, when the sign problem is sufficiently large.
The complex Langevin method in conjunction with the gauge cooling is applied to the two-dimensional lattice $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory that is analytically solvable. We obtain strong numerical evidence that at large Langevin time the expectation value of the plaquette variable converges, but to a wrong value when the complex phase of the gauge coupling is large.
In the complex Langevin approach to lattice simulations at nonzero density, zeroes of the fermion determinant lead to a meromorphic drift and hence a need to revisit the theoretical derivation. We discuss how poles in the drift affect the formal justification of the approach and then explore the various potential issues in simple models, in a manner that is applicable to heavy dense and full QCD.
The complex Langevin method is extended to full QCD at non-zero chemical potential. The use of gauge cooling stabilizes the simulations at small enough lattice spacings. At large fermion mass the results are compared to the HQCD approach, in which the spatial hoppings of fermionic variables are neglected, and good agreement is found. The method allows simulations also at high densities, all the way up to saturation.
We discuss the problem of possible boundary terms at poles of the drift in the complex Langevin method, which spoil correctness of the method. For the simplest, however paradigmatic cases we can find complete answers. Lessons for more generic cases as well as open mathematical problems are discussed.
We present new results of full QCD at nonzero chemical potential. In PRD 92, 094516 (2015) the complex Langevin method was shown to break down when the inverse coupling decreases and enters the transition region from the deconfined to the confined phase. We found that the stochastic technique used to estimate the drift term can be very unstable for indefinite matrices. This may be avoided by using the full inverse of the Dirac operator, which is, however, too costly for four-dimensional lattices. The major breakthrough in this work was achieved by realizing that the inverse elements necessary …
Lefschetz thimbles and complex Langevin dynamics both provide a means to tackle the numerical sign problem prevalent in theories with a complex weight in the partition function, e.g. due to nonzero chemical potential. Here we collect some findings for the quartic model, and for U(1) and SU(2) models in the presence of a determinant, which have some features not discussed before, due to a singular drift. We find evidence for a relation between classical runaways and stable thimbles, and give an example of a degenerate fixed point. We typically find that the distributions sampled in complex Lang…
Progress in the application of the complex Langevin method to full QCD at non-zero chemical potential is reported. The method evades the sign problem which makes naive simulations at nonzero density impossible. The procedure 'gauge cooling' is used to stabilize the simulations at small enough lattice spacings. The method allows simulations also at high densities, all the way up to saturation. Simulations in a systematic hopping parameter expansion are also performed and good convergence is observed, validating the full as well as the expanded simulations.
Thermodynamic Diagnostics for Complex Langevin Simulations: The Role of Configurational Temperature
National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences, School of Physics, and Mandelstam Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of the Witwatersrand（威特沃特斯兰德大学理论计算科学国家研究所、物理学院和曼德尔斯坦理论物理研究所）；Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE) and Institute of Particle Physics, Central China Normal University（华中师范大学夸克与轻子物理教育部重点实验室及粒子物理研究所）
We study QCD at finite density and low temperature by using the complex Langevin method. We employ the gauge cooling to control the unitarity norm and introduce a deformation parameter in the Dirac operator to avoid the singular-drift problem. The reliability of the obtained results are judged by the probability distribution of the magnitude of the drift term. By making extrapolations with respect to the deformation parameter using only the reliable results, we obtain results for the original system. We perform simulations on a $4^3\times 3$ lattice and show that our method works well even in …
We present our results obtained from gauge cooled complex Langevin simulations in 1+1d QCD at non-zero densities in the strong coupling regime with unrooted staggered fermions. For small quark masses there are regions of the chemical potential where this method fails to reproduce correct results. In these parameter ranges we studied the effect of different gauge cooling schemes on the distributions of the fermion determinant as well as of observables.
Simulations of full QCD at nonzero baryon density using light quark masses are presented. The sign problem is evaded by the usage of the complex Langevin equation. The simulations are stabilized by the gauge cooling procedure for small lattice spacings. The method allows simulations at high densities, up to the saturation. The sign average is measured in the full as well as the phasequenched theory. Results are compared to the HQCD approach, in which the spatial hopping terms of fermionic variables are dropped, and good agreement is found at large masses.
The IKKT matrix model, in the large-$N$ limit, is conjectured to be a non-perturbative definition of the ten-dimensional type IIB superstring theory. In this work, we investigate the possibility of spontaneous breaking of the ten-dimensional rotational symmetry in the Euclidean IKKT model. Since the effective action, after integrating out the fermions, is inherently complex, we use the complex Langevin dynamics to study the model. In order to evade the singular-drift problem in the model, we add supersymmetry preserving deformations and then take the vanishing limit of the deformations. Our an…
The complex Langevin method is a promising approach to the complex-action problem based on a fictitious time evolution of complexified dynamical variables under the influence of a Gaussian noise. Although it is known to have a restricted range of applicability, the use of gauge cooling made it applicable to various interesting cases including finite density QCD in certain parameter regions. In this paper, we revisit the argument for justification of the method. In particular, we point out a subtlety in the use of time-evolved observables, which play a crucial role in the previous argument. Thi…
We study the deconfinement transition line in QCD for quark chemical potentials up to $μ_q \sim 5 T$ ($μ_B \sim 15 T$). To circumvent the sign problem we use the complex Langevin equation with gauge cooling. The plaquette gauge action is used with two flavors of naive Wilson fermions at a relatively heavy pion mass of roughly 1.3 GeV. A quadratic dependence describes the transition line well on the whole chemical potential range.
Monte Carlo methods cannot probe far into the QCD phase diagram with a real chemical potential, due to the famous sign problem. Complex Langevin simulations, using adaptive step-size scaling and gauge cooling, are suited for sampling path integrals with complex weights. We report here on tests of the deconfinement transition in pure Yang-Mills SU(3) simulations and present an update on the QCD phase diagram in the limit of heavy and dense quarks.
Complex Langevin simulations provide an alternative to sample path integrals with complex weights and therefore are suited to determine the phase diagram of QCD from first principles. Adaptive step-size scaling and gauge cooling are used to improve the convergence of our simulations. We present results for the phase diagram of QCD in the limit of heavy quarks and discuss the order of the phase transitions, which are studied by varying the spatial simulation volume.
Simulations of QCD with a finite chemical potential typically lead to a severe sign problem, prohibiting any standard Monte Carlo approach. Complex Langevin simulations provide an alternative to sample path integrals with oscillating weight factors and therefore potentially enable the determination of the phase diagram of QCD. Here we present results for QCD in the limit of heavy quarks and show evidence that the phase diagram can be mapped out by direct simulation. We apply adaptive step-size scaling and adaptive gauge cooling to ensure the convergence of these simulations.
One reason for the well known fact that the Complex Langevin (CL) method sometimes fails to converge or converges to the wrong limit has been identified long ago: it is insufficient decay of the probability density either near infinity or near poles of the drift, leading to boundary terms that spoil the formal argument for correctness. To gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, in a previous paper we have studied the emergence of such boundary terms thoroughly in a simple model, where analytic results can be compared with numerics. Here we continue this type of analysis for more physic…
Complex Langevin simulations allow numerical studies of theories that exhibit a sign problem, such as QCD, and are thereby potentially suitable to determine the QCD phase diagram from first principles. Here we study QCD in the limit of heavy quarks for a wide range of temperatures and chemical potentials. Our results include an analysis of the adaptive gauge cooling technique, which prevents large excursions into the non-compact directions of the SL($3, \mathbb{C}$) manifold. We find that such excursions may appear spontaneously and change the statistical distribution of physical observables, …
Recently the complex Langevin method (CLM) has been attracting attention as a solution to the sign problem, which occurs in Monte Carlo calculations when the effective Boltzmann weight is not real positive. An undesirable feature of the method, however, was that it can happen in some parameter regions that the method yields wrong results even if the Langevin process reaches equilibrium without any problem. In our previous work, we proposed a practical criterion for correct convergence based on the probability distribution of the drift term that appears in the complex Langevin equation. Here we…
The IKKT matrix model is a promising candidate for a nonperturbative formulation of superstring theory, in which spacetime is conjectured to emerge dynamically from the microscopic matrix degrees of freedom in the large-$N$ limit. Indeed in the Lorentzian version, Monte Carlo studies suggested the emergence of (3+1)-dimensional expanding space-time. Here we study the Euclidean version instead, and investigate an alternative scenario for dynamical compactification of extra dimensions via the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of 10D rotational symmetry. We perform numerical simulations based o…
The complex Langevin method (CLM) provides a promising way to perform the path integral with a complex action using a stochastic equation for complexified dynamical variables. It is known, however, that the method gives wrong results in some cases, while it works, for instance, in finite density QCD in the deconfinement phase or in the heavy dense limit. Here we revisit the argument for justification of the CLM and point out a subtlety in using the time-evolved observables, which play a crucial role in the argument. This subtlety requires that the probability distribution of the drift term sho…
In many interesting physical systems, the determinant which appears from integrating out fermions becomes complex, and its phase plays a crucial role in the determination of the vacuum. An example of this is QCD at low temperature and high density, where various exotic fermion condensates are conjectured to form. Another example is the Euclidean version of the type IIB matrix model for 10d superstring theory, where spontaneous breaking of the SO(10) rotational symmetry down to SO(4) is expected to occur. When one applies the complex Langevin method to these systems, one encounters the singular…
In recent years, there has been remarkable progress in theoretical justification of the complex Langevin method, which is a promising method for evading the sign problem in the path integral with a complex weight. There still remains, however, an issue concerning occasional failure of this method in the case where the action involves logarithmic singularities such as the one appearing from the fermion determinant in finite density QCD. In this talk, we point out that this failure is due to the breakdown of the relation between the complex weight which satisfies the Fokker-Planck equation and t…
QCD at non-zero chemical potential ($μ$) for quark number has a complex fermion determinant and thus standard simulation methods for lattice QCD cannot be applied. We therefore simulate this theory using the Complex-Langevin algorithm with Gauge Cooling in addition to adaptive methods, to prevent runaway behaviour. Simulations are performed at zero temperature on a $12^4$ lattice with 2 quarks which are light enough that $m_N/3$ is significantly larger than $m_π/2$. Preliminary results are qualitatively as expected. The quark-number density is close to zero for $μ< m_N/3$, beyond which it incr…
The emergence of (3+1)-dimensional expanding spacetime from complex Langevin simulations of the Lorentzian type IIB matrix model with deformations
National Technical University of Athens（雅典国立技术大学）；Setsunan University（摂南大学）；Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca（米兰比可卡大学）；Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)（意大利国家核物理研究所）；High Energy Accelerator Research Organization（高能加速器研究机构）；SOKENDAI（日本综合研究大学院大学）；Shizuoka University（静冈大学）
In many interesting systems, the fermion determinant becomes complex and its phase plays a crucial role in the determination of the vacuum. For instance, in finite density QCD at low temperature and high density, exotic fermion condensates are conjectured to form due to such effects. When one applies the complex Langevin method to such a complex action system naively, one cannot obtain the correct results because of the singular-drift problem associated with the appearance of small eigenvalues of the Dirac operator. Here we propose to avoid this problem by adding a fermion bilinear term to the…
As is well known the Complex Langevin (CL) method sometimes fails to converge or converges to the wrong limit. We identified one reason for this long ago: insufficient decay of the probability density either near infinity or near poles of the drift, leading to boundary terms that spoil the formal argument for correctness. To gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, we analyze the emergence of such boundary terms thoroughly in a simple model, where analytic results can be compared with numerics. We also show how some simple modification stabilizes the CL process in such a way that it can…
We simulate lattice QCD at finite quark-number chemical potential to study nuclear matter, using the complex Langevin equation (CLE). The CLE is used because the fermion determinant is complex so that standard methods relying on importance sampling fail. Adaptive methods and gauge-cooling are used to prevent runaway solutions. Even then, the CLE is not guaranteed to give correct results. We are therefore performing extensive testing to determine under what, if any, conditions we can achieve reliable results. Our earlier simulations at $β=6/g^2=5.6$, $m=0.025$ on a $12^4$ lattice reproduced the…
Statistical sampling with the complex Langevin (CL) equation is applied to (0+1)-dimensional Thirring model, and its uniform-field variant, at finite fermion chemical potential $μ$. The CL simulation reproduces a crossover behavior which is similar to but actually deviating from the exact solution in the transition region, where we confirm that the CL simulation becomes susceptible to the drift singularities, i.e., zeros of the fermion determinant. In order to simulate the transition region with the CL method correctly, we examine two approaches, a reweighting method and a model deformation, i…
It is well known that investigating QCD at finite density by standard Monte Carlo methods is extremely difficult due to the sign problem. Some years ago, the complex Langevin method with gauge cooling was shown to work at high temperature, i.e., in the deconfined phase. The same method was also applied to QCD in the so-called heavy dense limit in the whole temperature region. In this paper we attempt to apply this method to the large $μ/T$ regime with moderate quark mass using four-flavor staggered fermions on a $4^3\times 8$ lattice. While a straightforward application faces with the singular…
