Refined Gribov Zwanziger Research Articles

Infrared gluon propagator in the refined Gribov-Zwanziger scenario at one-loop order in the Landau gauge

The refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) action in the Landau gauge provides a local and renormalizable framework to account for the existence of infinitesimal Gribov copies in the path integral together with other relevant infrared effects such as the formation of condensates. The properties of the tree-level gluon propagator obtained in this setup have been thoroughly investigated over the past decade. It accommodates important properties seen in lattice simulations such as a finite value at vanishing momentum and positivity violation. Yet a comprehensive study about the stability of such properties against quantum corrections was lacking. In this work, we compute the gluon propagator in the RGZ scenario at one-loop order and implement an appropriate renormalization scheme in order to compare our findings with lattice data. Remarkably, the qualitative properties of the tree-level gluon propagator are preserved. In particular, the fits with lattice data show evidence for positivity violation and the existence of complex poles for SU(2) and SU(3) gauge groups. We comment on the results for the ghost propagator as well. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Ghost-gluon vertex in the presence of the Gribov horizon: General kinematics

Correlation functions are important probes for the behavior of quantum field theories. Already at tree-level, the refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) effective action for Yang-Mills theories provides a good approximation for the gluon propagator, as compared to that calculated by nonperturbative methods such as lattice field theory and Dyson-Schwinger equations. However, the study of higher correlation functions of the RGZ theory is still at its beginning. In this work we evaluate the ghost-gluon vertex function in Landau gauge at one-loop level, in d=4 space-time dimensions for the gauge groups SU(2) and SU(3). More precisely, we extend the analysis conducted in [1] for the soft-gluon limit to an arbitrary kinematic configuration. We introduce renormalization group effects by means of a toy model for the running coupling and investigate the impact of such a model in the ultraviolet tails of our results. We find that RGZ results match fairly closely those from lattice simulations, Schwinger-Dyson equations and the Curci-Ferrari model for three different kinematic configurations. This is compatible with RGZ being a feasible theory for the strong interaction in the infrared regime. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Refined Gribov-Zwanziger theory coupled to scalar fields in the Landau gauge

The Refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) action in the Landau gauge accounts for the existence of infinitesimal Gribov copies as well as the dynamical formation of condensates in the infrared of Euclidean Yang-Mills theories. We couple scalar fields to the RGZ action and compute the one-loop scalar propagator in the adjoint representation of the gauge group. We compare our findings with existing lattice data. The fate of BRST symmetry in this model is discussed, and we provide a comparison to a previous proposal for a non-minimal coupling between matter and the RGZ action. We find good agreement with the lattice data of the scalar propagator for the values of the mass parameters that fit the RGZ gluon propagator to the lattice. This suggests that the non-perturbative information carried by the gluon propagator in the RGZ framework provides a suitable mechanism to reproduce the behavior of correlation functions of colored matter fields in the infrared.

Exploiting the scheme dependence of the renormalization group improvement in infrared Yang–Mills theory

Within the refined Gribov–Zwanziger scenario for four-dimensional Yang–Mills theory in the Landau gauge, a gluon mass term is generated from the restriction of the gauge field configurations to the first Gribov region. Tissier and Wschebor have pointed out that adding a gluon mass term to the usual Faddeev–Popov action yields one-loop renormalization group improved gluon and ghost propagators which are in reasonable agreement with the lattice data even in the infrared regime. In this work, we extend their analysis to several alternative renormalization schemes and show how the renormalization scheme dependence can be used to achieve an almost perfect matching to the lattice data for the gluon and ghost propagators.

High precision statistical Landau gauge lattice gluon propagator computation vs. the Gribov–Zwanziger approach

In this article we report on lattice results for the Landau gauge gluon propagator using large statistical ensembles. In particular, the compatibility of the lattice data with the tree level predictions of the Refined Gribov–Zwanziger and the Very Refined Gribov–Zwanziger actions is analysed, complementing earlier work using small-scale statistics. Our results show that the data is well described by the tree level estimate only up to momentap≲1 GeV and clearly favours the so-called Refined Gribov–Zwanziger scenario propagator. For the Very Refined Gribov–Zwanziger action, these results imply a particular relation betweend=2 condensates. Furthermore, we also provide a global fit of the lattice data that interpolates between the above scenario at low momenta and the usual continuum one-loop renormalization improved perturbation theory after introducing an infrared log-regularizing term.

Ghost-gluon vertex in the presence of the Gribov horizon

We consider Yang-Mills theories quantized in the Landau gauge in the presence of the Gribov horizon via the refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) framework. As the restriction of the gauge path integral to the Gribov region is taken into account, the resulting gauge field propagators display a nontrivial infrared behavior, being very close to the ones observed in lattice gauge field theory simulations. In this work, we explore a higher correlation function in the refined Gribov-Zwanziger theory: the ghost-gluon interaction vertex, at one-loop level. We show explicit compatibility with kinematical constraints, as required by the Ward identities of the theory, and obtain analytical expressions in the limit of vanishing gluon momentum. We find that the RGZ results are nontrivial in the infrared regime, being compatible with lattice Yang-Mills simulations in both SU(2) and SU(3), as well as with solutions from Schwinger-Dyson equations in different truncation schemes, Functional Renormalization Group analysis, and the renormalization group-improved Curci-Ferrari model.

Aspects of the refined Gribov–Zwanziger action in linear covariant gauges

We prove the renormalizability to all orders of a refined Gribov–Zwanziger type action in linear covariant gauges in four-dimensional Euclidean space. In this model, the Gribov copies are taken into account by requiring that the Faddeev–Popov operator is positive definite with respect to the transverse component of the gauge field, a procedure which turns out to be analogous to the restriction to the Gribov region in the Landau gauge. The model studied here can be regarded as the first approximation of a more general nonperturbative BRST invariant formulation of the refined Gribov–Zwanziger action in linear covariant gauges obtained recently in Carpi et al. (2015, 0000). A key ingredient of the set up worked out in Carpi et al. (2015, 0000) is the introduction of a gauge invariant field configuration Aμ which can be expressed as an infinite non-local series in the starting gauge field Aμ. In the present case, we consider the approximation in which only the first term of the series representing Aμ is considered, corresponding to a pure transverse gauge field. The all order renormalizability of the resulting action gives thus a strong evidence of the renormalizability of the aforementioned more general nonperturbative BRST invariant formulation of the Gribov horizon in linear covariant gauges.

Effect of the Gribov horizon on the Polyakov loop and vice versa

We consider finite-temperature SU(2) gauge theory in the continuum formulation, which necessitates the choice of a gauge fixing. Choosing the Landau gauge, the existing gauge copies are taken into account by means of the Gribov–Zwanziger quantization scheme, which entails the introduction of a dynamical mass scale (Gribov mass) directly influencing the Green functions of the theory. Here, we determine simultaneously the Polyakov loop (vacuum expectation value) and Gribov mass in terms of temperature, by minimizing the vacuum energy w.r.t. the Polyakov-loop parameter and solving the Gribov gap equation. Inspired by the Casimir energy-style of computation, we illustrate the usage of Zeta function regularization in finite-temperature calculations. Our main result is that the Gribov mass directly feels the deconfinement transition, visible from a cusp occurring at the same temperature where the Polyakov loop becomes nonzero. In this exploratory work we mainly restrict ourselves to the original Gribov–Zwanziger quantization procedure in order to illustrate the approach and the potential direct link between the vacuum structure of the theory (dynamical mass scales) and (de)confinement. We also present a first look at the critical temperature obtained from the refined Gribov–Zwanziger approach. Finally, a particular problem for the pressure at low temperatures is reported.

On gauge independence for gauge models with soft breaking of BRST symmetry

A consistent quantum treatment of general gauge theories with an arbitrary gauge-fixing in the presence of soft breaking of the BRST symmetry in the field–antifield formalism is developed. It is based on a gauged (involving a field-dependent parameter) version of finite BRST transformations. The prescription allows one to restore the gauge-independence of the effective action at its extremals and therefore also that of the conventional S-matrix for a theory with BRST-breaking terms being additively introduced into a BRST-invariant action in order to achieve a consistency of the functional integral. We demonstrate the applicability of this prescription within the approach of functional renormalization group to the Yang–Mills and gravity theories. The Gribov–Zwanziger action and the refined Gribov–Zwanziger action for a many-parameter family of gauges, including the Coulomb, axial and covariant gauges, are derived perturbatively on the basis of finite gauged BRST transformations starting from Landau gauge. It is proved that gauge theories with soft breaking of BRST symmetry can be made consistent if the transformed BRST-breaking terms satisfy the same soft BRST symmetry breaking condition in the resulting gauge as the untransformed ones in the initial gauge, and also without this requirement.

Nontrivial ghost-gluon vertex and the match of the Refined-Gribov-Zwanziger, Dyson-Schwinger equations, and lattice Yang-Mills propagators

Either by solving the ghost propagator DSE or through a one-loop computation in the RGZ (Refined Gribov-Zwanziger) formalism, we show that a non-trivial ghost-gluon vertex is anyhow required to obtain a ghost propagator prediction compatible with the available corresponding lattice data in the SU(3) case. For the necessary gluon propagator input, we present RGZ tree level fits which account well for the gluon lattice data. Interestingly, this propagator can be rewritten in terms of a running gluon mass. A comparison of both DSE and RGZ results for the ghost propagator is furthermore provided. We also briefly discuss the connection between the RGZ and the OPE $d=2$ gluon condensate.

Modeling the gluon propagator in Landau gauge: Lattice estimates of pole masses and dimension-two condensates

We present an analytic description of numerical results for the Landau-gauge SU(2) gluon propagator D(p^2), obtained from lattice simulations (in the scaling region) for the largest lattice sizes to date, in d = 2, 3 and 4 space-time dimensions. Fits to the gluon data in 3d and in 4d show very good agreement with the tree-level prediction of the Refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) framework, supporting a massive behavior for D(p^2) in the infrared limit. In particular, we investigate the propagator's pole structure and provide estimates of the dynamical mass scales that can be associated with dimension-two condensates in the theory. In the 2d case, fitting the data requires a non-integer power of the momentum p in the numerator of the expression for D(p^2). In this case, an infinite-volume-limit extrapolation gives D(0) = 0. Our analysis suggests that this result is related to a particular symmetry in the complex-pole structure of the propagator and not to purely imaginary poles, as would be expected in the original Gribov-Zwanziger scenario.

Glueball Masses from an Infrared Moment Problem

We set up an infrared-based moment problem to obtain estimates of the masses of the scalar, pseudoscalar, and tensor glueballs in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories using the refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) version of the Landau gauge, which takes into account nonperturbative physics related to gauge copies. Employing lattice input for the mass scales of the RGZ gluon propagator, the lowest order moment problem approximation gives the values m(0++) ≈ 1.96 GeV, m(2++) ≈ 2.04 GeV, and m(0-+) ≈ 2.19 GeV in the SU(3) case, all within a 20% range of the corresponding lattice values. We also recover the mass hierarchy m(0++) < m(2++) < m(0-+).

A renormalization group invariant scalar glueball operator in the (Refined) Gribov-Zwanziger framework

This paper presents a complete algebraic analysis of the renormalizability of the $d=4$ operator $F^2_{\mu\nu}$ in the Gribov-Zwanziger (GZ) formalism as well as in the Refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) version. The GZ formalism offers a way to deal with gauge copies in the Landau gauge. We explicitly show that $F^2_{\mu\nu}$ mixes with other $d=4$ gauge variant operators, and we determine the mixing matrix $Z$ to all orders, thereby only using algebraic arguments. The mixing matrix allows us to uncover a renormalization group invariant including the operator $F^2_{\mu\nu}$. With this renormalization group invariant, we have paved the way for the study of the lightest scalar glueball in the GZ formalism. We discuss how the soft breaking of the BRST symmetry of the GZ action can influence the glueball correlation function. We expect non-trivial mass scales, inherent to the GZ approach, to enter the pole structure of this correlation function.