The glueball spectrum and scaling in SU(3) lattice gauge theory

Abstract

We calculate glueball masses and the string tension on lattices as large as 20 4 and at couplings as small as β= 6 g 2 =6.2 . To be able to do so we construct wave-functionals that maintain a good overlap with the long-distance physics as the lattice spacing is made small. Our calculations strongly indicate that the lightest glueball is the 0 ++ and that the next highest levels are a nearly degenerate 2 ++ and 0 −+ at roughly 1.6 m[0 ++]. In addition there is a 1 +− just below 2 m[0 ++]. The mass of the scalar is about 3.5 times the square root of the string tension. We find that this ratio is consistent with being independent of β for β⩾5.9 (in contrast to its strong variation at lower β) and that this appears tobe so at a statistically significant level. The ratio of the 2 ++ and 0 ++ glueball masses is also consistent with being independent of β.