Ghost Sector Research Articles

Removing the Faddeev-Popov zero modes from Yang-Mills theory in spacetimes with compact spatial sections

It is well known that in de Sitter space the (free) minimally coupled massless scalar field theory does not admit any de Sitter--invariant Hadamard state. Related to this is the fact that the propagator for the massive scalar field corresponding to the de Sitter--invariant vacuum state diverges in the massless limit, with the infrared-divergent term being a constant. Since the Faddeev-Popov ghosts for the covariantly quantized Yang-Mills theory are minimally coupled massless scalar fields, it might appear that de Sitter symmetry would be broken in the ghost sector of Yang-Mills theory in de Sitter space. It is shown in this paper that the modes responsible for de Sitter symmetry breaking can be removed in a way consistent with BRST invariance and that a de Sitter--invariant theory can be constructed. More generally, it is shown that the spatially constant modes (the zero modes) of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts can be disposed of in a wide class of spacetimes with compact spatial sections. Then, the effective theory obtained by removing the zero modes, which contains a nonlocal interaction term, is shown to be equivalent to the theory corresponding to using a Faddeev-Popov-ghost propagator with the constant infrared-divergent term removed, provided that one can freely integrate by parts in the spacetime integral at the vertex for the ghost interaction term.

From the Berkovits formulation to the Witten formulation in open superstring field theory

The Berkovits formulation of open superstring field theory is based on the large Hilbert space of the superconformal ghost sector. We discuss its relation to the Witten formulation based on the small Hilbert space. We introduce a one-parameter family of conditions for partial gauge fixing of the Berkovits formulation such that the cubic interaction of the theory under the partial gauge fixing reduces to that of the Witten formulation in a singular limit. The local picture-changing operator at the open-string midpoint in the Witten formulation is regularized in our approach, and the divergence in on-shell four-point amplitudes coming from collision of picture-changing operators is resolved. The quartic interaction inherited from the Berkovits formulation plays a role of adjusting different behaviors of the picture-changing operators in the $s$ channel and in the $t$ channel of Feynman diagrams with two cubic vertices, and correct amplitudes in the world-sheet theory are reproduced. While gauge invariance at the second order in the coupling constant is obscured in the Witten formulation by collision of picture-changing operators, it is well defined in our approach and is recovered by including the quartic interaction inherited from the Berkovits formulation.

Ghost sector and geometry in minimal Landau gauge: Further constraining the infinite-volume limit

We present improved upper and lower bounds for the momentum-space ghost propagator of Yang-Mills theories in terms of the two smallest nonzero eigenvalues (and their corresponding eigenvectors) of the Faddeev-Popov matrix. These results are verified using data from four-dimensional numerical simulations of SU(2) lattice gauge theory in minimal Landau gauge at beta = 2.2, for lattice sides N = 16, 32, 48 and 64. Gribov-copy effects are discussed by considering four different sets of numerical minima. We then present a lower bound for the smallest nonzero eigenvalue of the Faddeev-Popov matrix in terms of the smallest nonzero momentum on the lattice and of a parameter characterizing the geometry of the first Gribov region $\Omega$. This allows a simple and intuitive description of the infinite-volume limit in the ghost sector. In particular, we show how nonperturbative effects may be quantified by the rate at which typical thermalized and gauge-fixed configurations approach the boundary of Omega, known as the first Gribov horizon. As a result, a simple and concrete explanation emerges for why lattice studies do not observe an enhanced ghost propagator in the deep infrared limit. Most of the simulations have been performed on the Blue Gene/P--IBM supercomputer shared by Rice University and S\~ao Paulo University.

Anti-BRST symmetry and background field method

We show that the requirement that a SU(N) Yang-Mills action (gauge fixed in a linear covariant gauge) is invariant under both the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) symmetry as well as the corresponding antiBRST symmetry, automatically implies that the theory is quantized in the (linear covariant) background field method (BFM) gauge. Thus, the BFM and its associated background Ward identity naturally emerge from antiBRST invariance of the theory and need not be introduced as an ad hoc gauge fixing procedure. Treating ghosts and antighosts on an equal footing, as required by a BRST-antiBRST invariant formulation of the theory, gives also rise to a local antighost equation that together with the local ghost equation completely resolve the algebraic structure of the ghost sector for any value of the gauge fixing parameter. We finally prove that the background fields are stationary points of the background effective action obtained when the quantum fields are integrated out.

Faddeev-Popov ghosts in quantum gravity beyond perturbation theory

We study the Faddeev-Popov ghost sector of asymptotically safe quantum gravity, which becomes non-perturbative in the ultraviolet. We point out that nonzero matter-ghost couplings and higher-order ghost self-interactions exist at a non-Gaussian fixed point for the gravitational couplings, i.e., in the ultraviolet. Thus the ghost sector in this non-perturbative ultraviolet completion does not keep the structure of a simple Faddeev-Popov determinant. We discuss implications of the new ghost couplings for the Renormalization Group flow in gravity, the form of the ultraviolet completion, and the relevant couplings, i.e., free parameters, of the theory.

QCD effective charge from the three-gluon vertex of the background-field method

In this article we study in detail the prospects of determining the infrared finite QCD effective charge from a special kinematic limit of the vertex function corresponding to three background gluons. This particular Green's function satisfies a QED-like Ward identity, relating it to the gluon propagator, with no reference to the ghost sector. Consequently, its longitudinal form factors may be expressed entirely in terms of the corresponding gluon wave function, whose inverse is proportional to the effective charge. After reviewing certain important theoretical properties, we consider a typical lattice quantity involving this vertex, and derive its exact dependence on the various form factors, for arbitrary momenta. We then focus on the particular momentum configuration that eliminates any dependence on the (unknown) transverse form factors, projecting out only the desired quantity. A preliminary numerical analysis indicates that the effective charge is relatively insensitive to the numerical uncertainties that may afflict future simulations of the aforementioned lattice quantity. The numerical difficulties associated with a parallel determination of the dynamical gluon mass are briefly discussed.

Quantization of gauge fields, graph polynomials and graph homology

We review quantization of gauge fields using algebraic properties of 3-regular graphs. We derive the Feynman integrand at n loops for a non-abelian gauge theory quantized in a covariant gauge from scalar integrands for connected 3-regular graphs, obtained from the two Symanzik polynomials.The transition to the full gauge theory amplitude is obtained by the use of a third, new, graph polynomial, the corolla polynomial.This implies effectively a covariant quantization without ghosts, where all the relevant signs of the ghost sector are incorporated in a double complex furnished by the corolla polynomial–we call it cycle homology–and by graph homology.

Macroscopic Effect of Quantum Gravity: Graviton, Ghost and Instanton Condensation on Horizon Scale of Universe

We discuss a special class of quantum gravity phenomena that occur on the scale of the Universe as a whole at any stage of its evolution, including the contemporary Universe. These phenomena are a direct consequence of the zero rest mass of gravitons, conformal non-invariance of the graviton field, and one-loop finiteness of quantum gravity, i.e. it is a direct consequence of first principles only. The effects are due to graviton-ghost condensates arising from the interfereence of quantum coherent states. Each of coherent states is a state of gravitons and ghosts of a wavelength of the order of the horizon scale and of different occupation numbers. The state vector of the Universe is a coherent superposition of vectors of different occupation numbers. One-loop approximation of quantum gravity is believed to be applicable to the contemporary Universe because of its remoteness from the Planck epoch. To substantiate the reliability of macroscopic quantum effects, the formalism of one-loop quantum gravity is discussed in detail. The theory is constructed as follows: Faddeev-Popov path integral in Hamilton gauge → factorization of classical and quantum variables, allowing the existence of a self-consistent system of equations for gravitons, ghosts and macroscopic geometry → transition to the one-loop approximation, taking into account that contributions of ghost fields to observables cannot be eliminated in any way. The ghost sector corresponding to the Hamilton gauge automatically ensures of one-loop finiteness of the theory off the mass shell. The Bogolyubov-Born-Green-Kirckwood-Yvon (BBGKY) chain for the spectral function of gravitons renormalized by ghosts is used to build a self-consistent theory of gravitons in the isotropic Universe. It is the first use of this technique in quantum gravity calculations. We found three exact solutions of the equations, consisting of BBGKY chain and macroscopic Einstein’s equations. It was found that these solutions describe virtual graviton and ghost condensates as well as condensates of instanton fluctuations. All exact solutions, originally found by the BBGKY formalism, are reproduced at the level of exact solutions for field operators and state vectors. It was found that exact solutions correspond to various condensates with different graviton-ghost compositions. Each exact solution corresponds to a certain phase state of graviton-ghost substratum. We establish conditions under which a continuous quantum-gravity phase transitions occur between different phases of the graviton-ghost condensate.

Living with ghosts in Lorentz invariant theories

We argue that theories with ghosts may have a long lived vacuum state even if all interactions are Lorentz preserving. In space-time dimension D = 2, we consider the tree level decay rate of the vacuum into ghosts and ordinary particles mediated by non-derivative interactions, showing that this is finite and logarithmically growing in time. For D > 2, the decay rate is divergent unless we assume that the interaction between ordinary matter and the ghost sector is soft in the UV, so that it can be described in terms of non-local form factors rather than point-like vertices. We provide an example of a nonlocal gravitational-strength interaction between the two sectors, which appears to satisfy all observational constraints.

Asymptotic safety goes on shell

It is well known in quantum field theory that the off-shell effective action depends on the gauge choice and field parametrization used in calculating it. Nevertheless, the typical scheme in which the scenario of asymptotically safe gravity is investigated is an off-shell version of the functional renormalization group equation. Working with the Einstein–Hilbert truncation as a test bed, we develop a new scheme for the analysis of asymptotically safe gravity in which the on-shell part of the effective action is singled out and we show that the beta function for the essential coupling has no explicit gauge dependence. In order to reach our goal, we introduce several technical novelties, including a different decomposition of the metric fluctuations, a new implementation of the ghost sector and a new cut-off scheme. We find a nontrivial fixed point, with a value of the cosmological constant that is independent of the gauge-fixing parameters.

VARIOUS FORMS OF BRST SYMMETRY IN ABELIAN 2-FORM GAUGE THEORY

We derive the various forms of BRST symmetry using Batalin–Fradkin–Vilkovisky approach in the case of Abelian 2-form gauge theory. We show that the so-called dual BRST symmetry is not an independent symmetry but the generalization of BRST symmetry obtained from the canonical transformation in the bosonic and ghost sector. We further obtain the new forms of both BRST and dual-BRST symmetry by making a general transformation in the Lagrange multipliers of the bosonic and ghost sector of the theory.

Gauge invariance and radiative corrections in an extra dimensional theory

The gauge structure of the four dimensional effective theory originated in a pure five dimensional Yang-Mills theory compactified on the orbifold S1 /Z2, is discussed on the basis of the BRST symmetry. If gauge parameters propagate in the bulk, the excited Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes are gauge fields and the four dimensional theory is gauge invariant only if the compactification is carried out by using curvatures as fundamental objects. The four dimensional theory is governed by two types of gauge transformations, one determined by the KK zero modes of the gauge parameters and the other by the excited ones. Within this context, a gauge-fixing procedure to quantize the KK modes that is covariant under the first type of gauge transformations is shown and the ghost sector induced by the gauge-fixing functions is presented. If the gauge parameters are confined to the usual four dimensional space–time, the known result in the literature is reproduced with some minor variants, although it is emphasized that the excited KK modes are not gauge fields, but matter fields transforming under the adjoint representation of SU4(N). A calculation of the one-loop contributions of the excited KK modes of the SUL(2) gauge group on the off-shell W+W−V, with V a photon or a Z boson, is exhibited. Such contributions are free of ultraviolet divergences and well–behaved at high energies.

One-loop effects of extra dimensions on theWWγandWWZvertices

The one-loop contribution of the excited Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes of the $SU_L(2)$ gauge group on the off-shell $WW\gamma$ and $WWZ$ vertices is calculated in the context of a pure Yang-Mills theory in five dimensions and its phenomenological implications discussed. The use of a gauge-fixing procedure for the excited KK modes that is covariant under the standard gauge transformations of the $SU_L(2)$ group is stressed. A gauge-fixing term and the Faddeev-Popov ghost sector for the KK gauge modes that are separately invariant under the standard gauge transformations of $SU_L(2)$ are presented. It is shown that the one-loop contributions of the KK modes to the off-shell $WW\gamma$ and $WWZ$ vertices are free of ultraviolet divergences and well-behaved at high energies. It is found that for a size of the fifth dimension of $R^{-1}\sim 1TeV$, the one-loop contribution of the KK modes to these vertices is about one order of magnitude lower than the corresponding standard model radiative correction. This contribution is similar to the one estimated for new gauge bosons contributions in other contexts. Tree-level effects on these vertices induced by operators of higher canonical dimension are also investigated. It is found that these effects are lower than those generated at the one-loop order by the KK gauge modes.

Chiral symmetry breaking with lattice propagators

We study chiral symmetry breaking using the standard gap equation, supplemented with the infrared-finite gluon propagator and ghost dressing function obtained from large-volume lattice simulations. One of the most important ingredients of this analysis is the non-Abelian quark-gluon vertex, which controls the way the ghost sector enters into the gap equation. Specifically, this vertex introduces a numerically crucial dependence on the ghost dressing function and the quark-ghost scattering amplitude. This latter quantity satisfies its own, previously unexplored, dynamical equation, which may be decomposed into individual integral equations for its various form factors. In particular, the scalar form factor is obtained from an approximate version of the ``one-loop dressed'' integral equation, and its numerical impact turns out to be rather considerable. The detailed numerical analysis of the resulting gap equation reveals that the constituent quark mass obtained is about 300 MeV, while fermions in the adjoint representation acquire a mass in the range of (750--962) MeV.

Gauge invariance and quantization of Yang-Mills theories in extra dimensions

The gauge structure of the four-dimensional effective theory arising from a pure $S{U}_{5}(N)$ Yang-Mills theory in five dimensions compactified on the orbifold ${S}^{1}/{Z}_{2}$ is reexamined on the basis of Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin symmetry. In this context, the two scenarios that can arise are analyzed: if the gauge parameters propagate in the bulk, the excited Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes are gauge fields, but they are matter vector fields if these parameters are confined in the 3-brane. In the former case, it is shown that the four-dimensional theory is gauge invariant only if the compactification is carried out by using curvatures instead of gauge fields as fundamental objects. Then, it is shown that the four-dimensional theory is governed by two types of gauge transformations, one determined by the KK zero modes of the gauge parameters, ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{(0)a}$, and another by the excited KK modes, ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{(n)a}$. The Dirac method and the proper solution of the master equation in the context of the field-antifield formalism are employed to show that the theory is subject to first-class constraints. A gauge-fixing procedure to quantize the KK modes ${A}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{(n)a}$ that is covariant under the first type of gauge transformations, which embody the standard gauge transformations of $S{U}_{4}(N)$, is introduced through gauge-fixing functions transforming in the adjoint representation of this group. The ghost sector induced by these gauge-fixing functions is derived on the basis of the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin formalism. The effective quantum Lagrangian that links the interactions between light physics (zero modes) and heavy physics (excited KK gauge modes) is presented. Concerning the radiative corrections of the excited KK modes on the light Green's functions, the predictive character of this Lagrangian at the one-loop level is stressed. In the case of the gauge parameters confined to the 3-brane, the known result in the literature is reproduced with some minor variants, although it is emphasized that the exited KK modes are not gauge fields but matter fields that transform under the adjoint representation of $S{U}_{4}(N)$. The Dirac method is employed to show that this theory is subject to both first- and second-class constraints, which arise from the zero and excited KK modes, respectively.

NEW FORMS OF BRST SYMMETRY IN RIGID ROTOR

We derive the different forms of BRST symmetry by using the Batalin–Fradkin–Vilkovisky formalism in a rigid rotor. The so-called "dual-BRST" symmetry is obtained from the usual BRST symmetry by making a canonical transformation in the ghost sector. On the other hand, a canonical transformation in the sector involving Lagrange multiplier and its corresponding momentum leads to a new form of BRST as well as dual-BRST symmetry.

Scrutinizing the Green's functions of QCD: Lattice meets Schwinger-Dyson

The Green's functions of QCD encode important information about the infrared dynamics of the theory. The main non-perturbative tools used to study them are their own equations of motion, known as Schwinger-Dyson equations, and large-volume lattice simulations. We have now reached a point where the interplay between these two methods can be most fruitful. Indeed, the quality of the lattice data is steadily improving, while a recently introduced truncation scheme for the Schwinger-Dyson equations makes their predictions far more reliable. In this talk several of the above points will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on how to enforce the crucial requirement of gauge invariance at the level of the Schwinger-Dyson equations, the detailed mechanism of dynamical gluon mass generation and its implications for the ghost sector, the non-perturbative effective charge of QCD, and the indirect extraction of the Kugo-Ojima function from existing lattice data.

Asymptotically free scalar curvature-ghost coupling in quantum Einstein gravity

We consider the asymptotic-safety scenario for quantum gravity which constructs a nonperturbatively renormalizable quantum gravity theory with the help of the functional renormalization group (RG). We verify the existence of a non-Gaussian fixed point and include a running curvature-ghost coupling as a first step towards the flow of the ghost sector of the theory. We find that the scalar curvature-ghost coupling is asymptotically free and RG relevant in the ultraviolet. Most importantly, the property of asymptotic safety discovered so far within the Einstein-Hilbert truncation and beyond remains stable under the inclusion of the ghost flow.

Supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory from lorentzian three-algebras

We show that by adding a supersymmetric Faddeev-Popov ghost sector to the recently constructed Bagger-Lambert theory based on a Lorentzian three algebra, we obtain an action with a BRST symmetry that can be used to demonstrate the absence of negative norm states in the physical Hilbert space. We show that the combined theory, expanded about its trivial vacuum, is BRST equivalent to a trivial theory, while the theory with a vev for one of the scalars associated with a null direction in the three-algebra is equivalent to a reformulation of maximally supersymmetric 2+1 dimensional Yang-Mills theory in which there is a formal SO(8) superconformal invariance.

Boundary State of Superstring in Open String Channel

We derive boundary state of superstring in the open string channel. It describes the superconformal field theory of open string emission and absorption by D-brane. We define the boundary state by conformal mappings from upper half plane with operators inserted at two points corresponding to the corners of semi-infinite strip. We obtain explicit oscillator forms analytically for the fermion and superconformal ghost sectors. For the fermion sector we compare this with numerical result obtained by using naive boundary condition.