Complex Langevin Method Research Articles

Real-time correlators in 3+1D thermal lattice gauge theory

We present the first direct computation of unequal-time correlation functions in non-Abelian lattice gauge theory. We demonstrate nontrivial consistency relations among correlators, time-translation invariance, and agreement with Monte Carlo results for thermal equilibrium in 3+1 dimensions by employing our stabilized complex Langevin method. Our work sets the stage to extract real-time observables, relevant to quark-gluon plasma physics within a first-principles real-time framework. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Complex Langevin: Correctness criteria, boundary terms, and spectrum

The Complex Langevin (CL) method to simulate “complex probabilities” ideally produces expectation values for the observables that converge to a limit equal to the expectation values obtained with the original complex “probability” measure. The situation may be spoiled in two ways: failure to converge and convergence to the wrong limit. It was found long ago that “wrong convergence” is caused by boundary terms; nonconvergence may arise from bad spectral properties of the various evolution operators related to the CL process. Here, we propose a class of criteria that allow one to rule out boundary terms and at the same time bad spectrum. Ruling out boundary terms in the equilibrium distribution arising from a CL simulation implies that the so-called convergence conditions are fulfilled. This in turn has been shown to guarantee that the expectation values of holomorphic observables are given by complex linear combinations of exp(−S) over various integration cycles. If the spectrum is pathological, however, the CL simulation in general does not reproduce the integral over the desired real cycle. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Assessment of the partial saddle point approximation in field-theoretic polymer simulations.

Field-theoretic simulations are numerical treatments of polymer field theory models that go beyond the mean-field self-consistent field theory level and have successfully captured a range of mesoscopic phenomena. Inherent in molecularly-based field theories is a "signproblem" associated with complex-valued Hamiltonian functionals. One route to field-theoretic simulations utilizes the complex Langevin (CL) method to importance sample complex-valued field configurations to bypass the signproblem. Although CL is exact in principle, it can be difficult to stabilize in strongly fluctuating systems. An alternate approach for blends or block copolymers with two segment species is to make a "partial saddle point approximation" (PSPA) in which the stiff pressure-like field is constrained to its mean-field value, eliminating the signproblem in the remaining field theory, allowing for traditional (real) sampling methods. The consequences of the PSPA are relatively unknown, and direct comparisons between the two methods are limited. Here, we quantitatively compare thermodynamic observables, order-disorder transitions, and periodic domain sizes predicted by the two approaches for a weakly compressible model of AB diblock copolymers. Using Gaussian fluctuation analysis, we validate our simulation observations, finding that the PSPA incorrectly captures trends in fluctuation corrections to certain thermodynamic observables, microdomain spacing, and location of order-disorder transitions. For incompressible models with contact interactions, we find similar discrepancies between the predictions of CL and PSPA, but these can be minimized by regularization procedures such as Morse calibration. These findings mandate caution in applying the PSPA to broader classes of soft-matter models and systems.

Complex Langevin method on rotating matrix quantum mechanics at thermal equilibrium

Abstract Rotating systems in thermal equilibrium are ubiquitous in our world. In the context of high-energy physics, rotations would affect the phase structure of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). However, the standard Monte Carlo methods in rotating systems are problematic because the chemical potentials for the angular momenta (angular velocities) cause sign problems even for bosonic variables. In this article, we demonstrate that the complex Langevin method (CLM) may overcome this issue. We apply the CLM to the Yang–Mills (YM)-type one-dimensional matrix model (matrix quantum mechanics) that is a large-N reduction (or dimensional reduction) of the (D + 1)-dimensional U(N) pure YM theory [bosonic Banks–Fischler–Shenker–Susskind (BFSS) model]. This model shows a large-N phase transition at finite temperature, which is analogous to the confinement/deconfinement transition of the original YM theory, and our CLM predicts that the transition temperature decreases as the angular momentum chemical potential increases. In order to verify our results, we compute several quantities via the minimum sensitivity method and find good quantitative agreements. Hence, the CLM works properly in this rotating system. We also argue that our results are qualitatively consistent with a holography and the recent studies of the imaginary angular velocity in QCD. As a byproduct, we develop an analytic approximation to treat the so-called “small black hole” phase in the matrix model.

Color superconductivity on the lattice — analytic predictions from QCD in a small box

We investigate color superconductivity on the lattice using the gap equation for the Cooper pair condensate. The weak coupling analysis is justified by choosing the physical size of the lattice to be smaller than the QCD scale, while keeping the aspect ratio of the lattice small enough to suppress thermal excitations. In the vicinity of the critical coupling constant that separates the superconducting phase and the normal phase, the gap equation can be linearized, and by solving the corresponding eigenvalue problem, we obtain the critical point and the Cooper pair condensate without assuming its explicit form. The momentum components of the condensate suggest spatially isotropic s-wave superconductivity with Cooper pairs formed by quarks near the Fermi surface. The chiral symmetry in the massless limit is spontaneously broken by the Cooper pair condensate, which turns out to be dominated by the scalar and the pseudo-scalar components. Our results provide useful predictions, in particular, for future lattice simulations based on methods to overcome the sign problem such as the complex Langevin method.

Stabilizing complex Langevin for real-time gauge theories with an anisotropic kernel

The complex Langevin (CL) method is a promising approach to overcome the sign problem that occurs in real-time formulations of quantum field theories. Using the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism, we study SU(Nc) gauge theories with CL. We observe that current stabilization techniques are insufficient to obtain correct results. Therefore, we revise the discretization of the CL equations on complex time contours, find a time reflection symmetric formulation and introduce a novel anisotropic kernel that enables CL simulations on discretized complex time paths. Applying it to SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in 3+1 dimensions, we obtain unprecedentedly stable results that we validate using additional observables and that can be systematically improved. For the first time, we are able to simulate non-Abelian gauge theory on time contours whose real-time extent exceeds its inverse temperature. Thus, our approach may pave the way towards an ab-initio real-time framework of QCD in and out of equilibrium with a potentially large impact on the phenomenology of heavy-ion collisions.

Progress in the numerical studies of the type IIB matrix model

The type IIB matrix model, also known as the IKKT model, has been proposed as a promising candidate for a non-perturbative formulation of superstring theory. Based on this proposal, various attempts have been made to explain how our four-dimensional space-time can emerge dynamically from superstring theory. In this article, we review the progress in numerical studies on the type IIB matrix model. We particularly focus on the most recent results for the Euclidean and Lorentzian versions, which are obtained using the complex Langevin method to overcome the sign problem. We also review the earlier results obtained using conventional Monte Carlo methods and clarify the relationship among different calculations.

Regularization of the complex Langevin method

The complex Langevin method, a numerical method used to compute the ensemble average with a complex partition function, often suffers from runaway instability. We study the regularization of the complex Langevin method via augmenting the action with a stabilization term. Since the regularization introduces biases to the numerical result, two approaches, named 2R and 3R methods, are introduced to recover the unbiased result. The 2R method supplements the regularization with regression to estimate the unregularized ensemble average, and the 3R method reduces the computational cost by coupling the regularization with a reweighting strategy before regression. Both methods can be generalized to the SU(n) theory and are assessed from several perspectives. Several numerical experiments in the lattice field theory are carried out to show the effectiveness of our approaches.

Limitations of field-theory simulation for exploring phase separation: The role of repulsion in a lattice protein model.

Field-theory simulation by the complex Langevin method offers an alternative to conventional sampling techniques for exploring the forces driving biomolecular liquid-liquid phase separation. Such simulations have recently been used to study several polyampholyte systems. Here, we formulate a field theory corresponding to the hydrophobic/polar (HP) lattice protein model, with finite same-site repulsion and nearest-neighbor attraction between HH bead pairs. By direct comparison with particle-based Monte Carlo simulations, we show that complex Langevin sampling of the field theory reproduces the thermodynamic properties of the HP model only if the same-site repulsion is not too strong. Unfortunately, the repulsion has to be taken weaker than what is needed to prevent condensed droplets from assuming an artificially compact shape. Analysis of a minimal and analytically solvable toy model hints that the sampling problems caused by repulsive interaction may stem from loss of ergodicity.

Complex Langevin dynamics and supersymmetric quantum mechanics

Using complex Langevin method we probe the possibility of dynamical supersymmetry breaking in supersymmetric quantum mechanics models with complex actions. The models we consider are invariant under the combined operation of parity and time reversal, in addition to supersymmetry. When actions are complex traditional Monte Carlo methods based on importance sampling fail. Models with dynamically broken supersymmetry can exhibit sign problem due to the vanishing of the partition function. Complex Langevin method can successfully evade the sign problem. Our simulations suggest that complex Langevin method can reliably predict the absence or presence of dynamical supersymmetry breaking in these one-dimensional models with complex actions.

Complex Langevin study for polarons in a one-dimensional two-component Fermi gas with attractive contact interactions

We investigate a polaronic excitation in a one-dimensional spin-1/2 Fermi gas with contact attractive interactions, using the complex Langevin method, which is a promising approach to evade a possible sign problem in quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We found that the complex Langevin method works correctly in a wide range of temperature, interaction strength, and population imbalance. The Fermi polaron energy extracted from the two-point imaginary Green's function is not sensitive to the temperature and the impurity concentration in the parameter region we considered. Our results show a good agreement with the solution of the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz at zero temperature.

Worldvolume approach to the tempered Lefschetz thimble method

Abstract As a solution towards the numerical sign problem, we propose a novel hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm, in which molecular dynamics is performed on a continuum set of integration surfaces foliated by the antiholomorphic gradient flow (“the worldvolume of an integration surface”). This is an extension of the tempered Lefschetz thimble method (TLTM) and solves the sign and multimodal problems simultaneously, as the original TLTM does. Furthermore, in this new algorithm, one no longer needs to compute the Jacobian of the gradient flow in generating a configuration, and only needs to evaluate its phase upon measurement. To demonstrate that this algorithm works correctly, we apply the algorithm to a chiral random matrix model, for which the complex Langevin method is known not to work.

Complex Langevin: Boundary terms at poles

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.

Complex Langevin calculations in QCD at finite density

We demonstrate that the complex Langevin method (CLM) enables calculations in QCD at finite density in a parameter regime in which conventional methods, such as the density of states method and the Taylor expansion method, are not applicable due to the severe sign problem. Here we use the plaquette gauge action with β = 5.7 and four-flavor staggered fermions with degenerate quark mass ma = 0.01 and nonzero quark chemical potential μ. We confirm that a sufficient condition for correct convergence is satisfied for μ/T = 5.2 − 7.2 on a 83 × 16 lattice and μ/T = 1.6 − 9.6 on a 163 × 32 lattice. In particular, the expectation value of the quark number is found to have a plateau with respect to μ with the height of 24 for both lattices. This plateau can be understood from the Fermi distribution of quarks, and its height coincides with the degrees of freedom of a single quark with zero momentum, which is 3 (color) × 4 (flavor) × 2 (spin) = 24. Our results may be viewed as the first step towards the formation of the Fermi sphere, which plays a crucial role in color superconductivity conjectured from effective theories.

Complex Langevin simulations and the QCD phase diagram: recent developments

In this review we present the current state-of-the-art on complex Langevin simulations and their implications for the QCD phase diagram. After a short summary of the complex Langevin method, we present and discuss recent developments. Here we focus on the explicit computation of boundary terms, which provide an observable that can be used to check one of the criteria of correctness explicitly. We also present the method of Dynamic Stabilization and elaborate on recent results for fully dynamical QCD.

Alternating descent method for gauge cooling of complex Langevin simulations

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.

Complex Langevin analysis of 2D U(1) gauge theory on a torus with a \u03b8 term

Monte Carlo simulation of gauge theories with a θ term is known to be extremely difficult due to the sign problem. Recently there has been major progress in solving this problem based on the idea of complexifying dynamical variables. Here we consider the complex Langevin method (CLM), which is a promising approach for its low computational cost. The drawback of this method, however, is the existence of a condition that has to be met in order for the results to be correct. As a first step, we apply the method to 2D U(1) gauge theory on a torus with a θ term, which can be solved analytically. We find that a naive implementation of the method fails because of the topological nature of the θ term. In order to circumvent this problem, we simulate the same theory on a punctured torus, which is equivalent to the original model in the infinite volume limit for |θ| < π. Rather surprisingly, we find that the CLM works and reproduces the exact results for a punctured torus even at large θ, where the link variables near the puncture become very far from being unitary.

Pairing patterns in one-dimensional spin- and mass-imbalanced Fermi gases

We study spin- and mass-imbalanced mixtures of spin-1/2 fermions interacting via an attractive contact potential in one spatial dimension. Specifically, we address the influence of unequal particle masses on the pair formation by means of the complex Langevin method. By computing the pair-correlation function and the associated pair-momentum distribution we find that inhomogeneous pairing is present for all studied spin polarizations and mass imbalances. To further characterize the pairing behavior, we analyze the density-density correlations in momentum space, the so-called shot noise, which is experimentally accessible through time-of-flight imaging. At finite spin polarization, the latter is known to show distinct maxima at momentum configurations associated with the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) instability. Besides those maxima, we find that additional features emerge in the noise correlations when mass imbalance is increased, revealing the stability of FFLO-type correlations against mass imbalance and furnishing an experimentally accessible signature to probe this type of pairing.

Complex Langevin analysis of the spontaneous breaking of 10D rotational symmetry in the Euclidean IKKT matrix model

The IKKT matrix model is a promising candidate for a nonperturbative formulation of superstring theory. In this model, 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 spacetime. 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 on the complex Langevin method (CLM) in order to avoid a severe sign problem. Furthermore, in order to avoid the singular-drift problem in the CLM, we deform the model and determine the SSB pattern as we vary the deformation parameter. From these results, we conclude that the original model has an SO(3) symmetric vacuum, which is consistent with previous results obtained by the Gaussian expansion method (GEM). We also apply the GEM to the deformed matrix model and find consistency with the results obtained by the CLM.

How does Gauge Cooling Stabilize Complex Langevin?

We study the mechanism of the gauge cooling technique to stabilize the complex Langevin method in the one-dimensional periodic setting. In this case, we find the exact solutions for the gauge transform which minimizes the Frobenius norm of link variables. Thereby, we derive the underlying stochastic differential equations by continuing the numerical method with gauge cooling, and thus provide a number of insights on the effects of gauge cooling. A specific case study is carried out for the Polyakov loop model in $SU(2)$ theory, in which we show that the gauge cooling may help form a localized distribution to guarantee there is no excursion too far away from the real axis.