Quantum Chromodynamics Simulations Research Articles

QCD Kondo excitons

The quantum chromodynamics (QCD) Kondo effect is a quantum phenomenon in which heavy quarks ($c$, $b$) exist as impurity particles in quark matter composed of light quarks ($u$, $d$, $s$) at extremely high density. This is analogous to the famous Kondo effect in condensed matter physics. In the present paper, we show theoretically the existence of the "QCD Kondo excitons", i.e., the bound states of light quarks and heavy quarks, as the lowest-excitation modes above the ground state of the quark matter governed by the QCD Kondo effect. These are neutral for color and electric charges, similarly to the Kondo excitons in condensed matter, and they are new type of quasiparticles absent in the normal phase of quark matter. The QCD Kondo excitons have various masses and quantum numbers, i.e., flavors and spin parities (scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, and axialvector). The QCD Kondo excitons lead to the emergence of the neutral currents in transport phenomena, which are measurable in lattice QCD simulations. The study of the QCD Kondo excitons will provide us with understanding of new universal properties shared by quark matter and condensed matter.

Lattice-based equation of state at finite baryon number, electric charge, and strangeness chemical potentials

We construct an equation of state for Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) at finite temperature and chemical potentials for baryon number $B$, electric charge $Q$ and strangeness $S$. We use the Taylor expansion method, up to the fourth power for the chemical potentials. This requires the knowledge of all diagonal and non-diagonal $BQS$ correlators up to fourth order: these results recently became available from lattice QCD simulations, albeit only at a finite lattice spacing $N_t=12$. We smoothly merge these results to the Hadron Resonance Gas (HRG) model, to be able to reach temperatures as low as 30 MeV; in the high temperature regime, we impose a smooth approach to the Stefan-Boltzmann limit. We provide a parameterization for each one of these $BQS$ correlators as functions of the temperature. We then calculate pressure, energy density, entropy density, baryonic, strangeness, electric charge densities and compare the two cases of strangeness neutrality and $\mu_S=\mu_Q=0$. We also calculate the isentropic trajectories and compare them in the two cases. Our equation of state can be readily used as an input of hydrodynamical simulations of matter created at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).

Hadron resonance gas with repulsive mean field interaction: Thermodynamics and transport properties

We discuss the interacting hadron resonance gas model to describe the thermodynamics of hadronic matter. While the attractive interaction between hadrons is taken care of by including all the resonances with zero width, the repulsive interactions are included by considering density-dependent mean field potentials. The bulk thermodynamic quantities are confronted with the lattice quantum chromodynamics simulation results at zero as well as at finite baryon chemical potential. We further estimate the shear and bulk viscosity coefficients of hot and dense hadronic matter within the ambit of this interacting hadron resonance gas model.

Thermodynamic geometry and deconfinement temperature

The application of Riemannian geometry to the analysis of the equilibrium thermodynamics in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) at finite temperature and baryon density gives a new method to evaluate the critical temperature, $T_c$, of the deconfinement transition. In the confined phase, described by the thermodynamic geometry of the Hadron Resonance Gas, the estimate of $T_c$ turns out completely consistent with lattice QCD simulations of the quark-gluon plasma phase if the hadron excluded volume and the interaction effects are taken into account.

Detailed study of the QCD Equation of State of a colorless partonic plasma in finite volume

The color confinement in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) remains an interesting and intriguing phenomenon. It is considered as a very important nonperturbative effect to be taken into account in all models intended to describe the QCD many-parton system. During the deconfinement phase transition, the non-Abelian character of the partonic plasma manifests itself in an important manner. A direct consequence of color confinement is that all states of any partonic system must be colorless and the requirement of the colorlessness condition is more than necessary. Indeed, the colorless state is a result of the multiparton interactions, from which collective phenomena can emerge, inducing strong correlations and giving rise to a long-range order of liquid-like phase, a behavior fundamentally different from that of a conformal ideal gas. Within our Colorless QCD MIT-Bag Model and using the [Formula: see text]-method, three Thermal Response Functions, related to the Equation of State, like pressure [Formula: see text], sound velocity [Formula: see text] and energy density [Formula: see text] are calculated and studied as functions of temperature [Formula: see text] and volume [Formula: see text]. Also and in the same context, two relevant correlation forms [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are calculated and studied intensively as functions of [Formula: see text] at different volumes. A detailed comparative study between our results and those obtained from lattice QCD simulation, hot QCD and other phenomenological models is carried out. We find that the Liquid Partonic Plasma Model is the model which fits our Equation of State very well, in which the Bag constant term is revealed very important. Our Colorless Partonic Plasma, just beyond the finite volume transition point, is found in a state where the different partons interact strongly showing a liquid behavior in agreement with the estimate of the plasma parameter [Formula: see text] and supporting the result obtained from the fitting work. This allows us to understand experimental observations in Ultra-Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions and to interpret lattice QCD results.

Chiral Fermions Algorithms In Lattice QCD

The theory that explains the strong interactions of the elementary particles, as part of the standard model, it is the so-called Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) theory. In regimes of low energy this theory it is formulated and solved in a lattice with four dimensions using numerical simulations. This method it is called the lattice QCD theory. Quark propagator it the most important element that is calculated because it contains the physical information of lattice QCD. Computing quark propagator of chiral fermions in lattice means that we should invert the chiral Dirac operator, which has high complexity. In the standard inversion algorithms of the Krylov subspace methods, that are used in these kinds of simulations, the time of inversion is scaled with the inverse of the quark mass. In lattice QCD simulations with chiral fermions, this phenomenon it is knowing as the critical slowing-down problem. The purpose of this work is to show that the preconditioned GMRESR algorithm, developed in our previous work, solves this problem. The preconditioned GMRESR algorithm it is developed in U(1) group symmetry using QCDLAB 1.0 package, as good “environment” for testing new algorithms. In this paper we study the escalation of the time of inversion with the quark mass for this algorithm. It turned out that it is a fast inversion algorithm for lattice QCD simulations with chiral fermions, that “soothes” the critical slowing-down of standard algorithms. The results are compared with SHUMR algorithm that is optimal algorithm used in these kinds of simulations. The calculations are made for 100 statistically independent configurations on 64 x 64 lattice gauge U(1) field for three coupling constant and for some quark masses. The results showed that for the preconditioned GMRESR algorithm the coefficient k, related to the critical slowing down phenomena, it is approximately - 0.3 compared to the inverse proportional standard law (k = -1) that it is scaled SHUMR algorithm, even for dense lattices. These results make more stable and confirm the efficiency of our algorithm as an algorithm that avoid the critical slowing down phenomenon in lattice QCD simulations. In our future studies we have to develop the preconditioned GMRESR algorithm in four dimensions, in SU (3) lattice gauge theory.

Numerical analytic continuation of Euclidean data

In this work we present a direct comparison of three different numerical analytic continuation methods: the Maximum Entropy Method, the Backus–Gilbert method and the Schlessinger point or Resonances Via Padé method. First, we perform a benchmark test based on a model spectral function and study the regime of applicability of these methods depending on the number of input points and their statistical error. We then apply these methods to more realistic examples, namely to numerical data on Euclidean propagators obtained from a Functional Renormalization Group calculation, to data from a lattice Quantum Chromodynamics simulation and to data obtained from a tight-binding model for graphene in order to extract the electrical conductivity.

Deconfinement transition effects on cosmological parameters and primordial gravitational waves spectrum

The cosmological evolution can be described in terms of directly measurable cosmological scalar parameters (deceleration $q$, jerk $j$, snap $s$, etc...) constructed out of high order derivatives of the scale factor. Their behavior at the critical temperature of the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) phase transition in early universe could be a specific tool to study the transition, analogously to the fluctuations of conserved charges in QCD. We analyze the effect of the crossover transition from quarks and gluons to hadrons in early universe on the cosmological scalars and on the gravitational wave spectrum, by using the recent lattice QCD equation of state and including the electroweak degrees of freedom and different models of dark matter. Near the transition the cosmological parameters follow the behavior of QCD trace anomaly and of the speed of sound of the entire system. The effects of deconfinement turn out to be more relevant for the modification of the primordial spectrum of gravitational waves and our complete analysis, based on lattice QCD simulations and on the hadron resonance gas below the critical temperature, refines previous results.

Accelerating lattice QCD simulations with 2 flavors of staggered fermions on multiple GPUs using OpenACC—A first attempt

We present the results of an effort to accelerate a Rational Hybrid Monte Carlo (RHMC) program for lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) simulation for 2 flavors of staggered fermions on multiple Kepler K20X GPUs distributed on different nodes of a Cray XC30. We do not use CUDA but adopt a higher level directive based programming approach using the OpenACC platform. The lattice QCD algorithm is known to be bandwidth bound; our timing results illustrate this clearly, and we discuss how this limits the parallelization gains. We achieve more than a factor three speed-up compared to the CPU only MPI program.

Nonstandard heavy mesons and baryons: Experimental evidence

Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the generally accepted theory for the strong interactions, describes the interactions between quarks and gluons. The strongly interacting particles that are seen in nature are hadrons, which are composites of quarks and gluons. Since QCD is a strongly coupled theory at distance scales that are characteristic of observable hadrons, there are no rigorous, first-principle methods to derive the spectrum and properties of the hadrons from the QCD Lagrangian, except for Lattice QCD simulations that are not yet able to cope with all aspects of complex and short-lived states. Instead, a variety of "QCD inspired" phenomenological models have been proposed. Common features of these models are predictions for the existence of hadrons with substructures that are more complex than the standard quark-antiquark mesons and the three quark baryons of the original quark model that provides a concise description of most of the low-mass hadrons. Recently, an assortment of candidates for non-standard multi-quark mesons, meson-gluon hybrids and pentaquark baryons that contain heavy (charm or bottom) quarks have been discovered. Here we review the experimental evidence for these states and make some general comparisons of their measured properties with standard quark-model expectations and predictions of various models for non-standard hadrons. We conclude that the spectroscopy of all but simplest hadrons is not yet understood.

The phase structure of QCD

We review recent results on the phase structure of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and bulk QCD thermodynamics. In particular, we discuss how universal critical scaling related to spontaneous breaking of the chiral symmetry manifests itself in recent lattice QCD simulations and how the knowledge on non-universal scaling parameters can be utilized in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram. We also show how various (generalized) susceptibilities can be employed to characterize properties of QCD matter at low and high temperatures, related to deconfining aspects of the QCD transition. Finally, we highlight the recent efforts towards understanding how lattice QCD calculation can provide input for our understanding of the matter created in heavy ion collisions and in particular on the freeze-out conditions met in the hydrodynamic evolution of this matter.

Critical end point in the presence of a chiral chemical potential

A class of Polyakov-loop-modified Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) models have been used to support a conjecture that numerical simulations of lattice-regularized quantum chromodynamics (QCD) defined with a chiral chemical potential can provide information about the existence and location of a critical endpoint in the QCD phase diagram drawn in the plane spanned by baryon chemical potential and temperature. That conjecture is challenged by conflicts between the model results and analyses of the same problem using simulations of lattice-regularized QCD (lQCD) and well-constrained Dyson-Schwinger equation (DSE) studies. We find the conflict is resolved in favor of the lQCD and DSE predictions when both a physically-motivated regularization is employed to suppress the contribution of high-momentum quark modes in the definition of the effective potential connected with the PNJL models and the four-fermion coupling in those models does not react strongly to changes in the mean-field that is assumed to mock-up Polyakov loop dynamics. With the lQCD and DSE predictions thus confirmed, it seems unlikely that simulations of lQCD with $\mu_5>0$ can shed any light on a critical endpoint in the regular QCD phase diagram.

Equation of state of imbalanced cold matter from chiral perturbation theory

We study the thermodynamic properties of matter at vanishing temperature for non-extreme values of the isospin chemical potential and of the strange quark chemical potential. From the leading order pressure obtained by maximizing the static chiral Lagrangian density we derive a simple expression for the equation of state in the pion condensed phase and in the kaon condensed phase. We find an analytical expression for the maximum of the ratio between the energy density and the Stefan-Boltzmann energy density as well as for the isospin chemical potential at the peak both in good agreement with lattice simulations of quantum chromodynamics. We speculate on the location of the crossover from the Bose-Einstein condensate state to the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer state by a simple analysis of the thermodynamic properties of the system. For $\mu_I \gtrsim 2 m_\pi$ the leading order chiral perturbation theory breaks down; as an example it underestimates the energy density of the system and leads to a wrong asymptotic behavior.

Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics with Overlap Fermions on GPUs

Lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) calculations were one of the first applications to demonstrate the potential of GPUs in the area of high-performance computing; the nature of lattice QCD calculations matches well with the GPU's computational model. This article discusses ways to effectively use GPUs for lattice calculations using the overlap operator, a discretization that preserves chiral symmetry even at nonzero lattice spacing and makes possible lattice QCD simulations in the parameter region relevant to nuclear physics. The author shows that the large memory footprint of these codes requires the use of multiple GPUs in parallel and discusses methods for implementing this operator efficiently: hybrid CPU/GPU memory use for eigensolvers and MPI/OpenMP/CUDA parallelization strategies required to take full advantage of both GPU and CPU resources. He then compares the performance of codes on a GPU cluster and a CPU cluster with similar interconnects, discussing the strong scaling for problem sizes relevant to current lattice QCD simulations.

Thermodynamics and higher order moments in SU(3) linear σ-model with gluonic quasiparticles

In the framework of the linear σ-model (LSM) with three quark flavors, the chiral phase diagram at finite temperature and density is investigated. For temperatures higher than the critical temperature (), we added to the LSM the gluonic sector from the quasi-particle model (QPM), which assumes that the interacting gluons in the strongly interacting matter, the quark–gluon plasma (QGP), are phenomenologically the same as non-interacting massive quasi-particles. The dependence of the chiral condensates of strange and non-strange quarks on the temperature and chemical potential is analyzed. Then, we calculate the thermodynamics in the new approach (using a combination of the LSM and the QPM). Confronting the results with those from recent lattice quantum chromodynamics simulations reveals an excellent agreement for almost all thermodynamic quantities. The dependences of the first-order and second-order moments of the particle multiplicity on the chemical potential at fixed temperature are studied. These investigations are implemented through characterizing the large fluctuations accompanying the chiral phase transition. The results for the first-order and second-order moments are compared with those from the (3) Polyakov linear σ-model (PLSM). Also, the resulting phase diagrams deduced in the PLSM and the LSM+QPM are compared with each other.

Development of Lattice QCD Simulation Code Set “Bridge++” on Accelerators

We are developing a new code set “Bridge++” for lattice QCD (Quantum Chromodynamics) simulations. It aims at an extensible, readable, and portable workbench, while achieving high performance. Bridge++ covers popular lattice actions and numerical algorithms. The code set is constructed in C++ with an object oriented programming. In this paper, we describe our code design focusing on the use of accelerators such as GPGPUs. For portability our implemen- tation employs OpenCL to control the devices while encapsulates the details of manipulation by providing generalized interfaces. The code is successfully applied to several recent accelerators.

Simulation of lattice QCD with domain-wall fermions

Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the fundamental theory for the interaction between quarks and gluons. It manifests as the short-range strong interaction inside the nucleus and plays an important role in the evolution of the early universe, from the quark-gluon phase to the hadron phase. To solve QCD is a grand challenge, since it requires very large-scale numerical simulations of the discretized action of QCD on the 4-dimensional space-time lattice. Moreover, since quarks are relativistic fermions, the fifth dimension is introduced so that massless quarks with exact chiral symmetry can be realized at finite lattice spacing, on the boundaries of the fifth dimension, the so-called domain-wall fermion (DWF). In this work, I discuss how to simulate lattice QCD with DWF so that the chiral symmetry can be preserved optimally with a finite extent in the fifth dimension. I also outline the simulations which have been performed by the TWQCD Collaboration and present some recent physical results.

Recent development in SU(3) covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory

Baryon chiral perturbation theory (BChPT), as an effective field theory of low-energy quantum chromodynamics (QCD), has played and is still playing an important role in our understanding of non-perturbative strong interaction phenomena. In the past two decades, inspired by the rapid progress in lattice QCD simulations and the new experimental campaign to study the strangeness sector of low-energy QCD, many efforts have been made to develop a fully covariant BChPT and to test its validity in all scenarios. These new endeavours have not only deepened our understanding of some long-standing problems, such as the power-counting-breaking problem and the convergence problem, but also resulted in theoretical tools that can be confidently applied to make robust predictions. Particularly, the manifestly covariant BChPT supplemented with the extended-on-mass-shell (EOMS) renormalization scheme has been shown to satisfy all analyticity and symmetry constraints and converge relatively faster compared to its non-relativistic and infrared counterparts. In this article, we provide a brief review of the fully covariant BChPT and its latest applications in the $u$, $d$, and $s$ three-flavor sector.

H-cluster stars

The study of dense matter at ultra-high density has a very long history, which is meaningful for us to understand not only cosmic events in extreme circumstances but also fundamental laws of physics. It is well known that the state of cold matter at supra-nuclear density depends on the non-perturbative nature of quantum chromo-dynamics (QCD) and is essential for modeling pulsars. A so-called H-cluster matter is proposed in this paper as the nature of dense matter in reality. In compact stars at only a few nuclear densities but low temperature, quarks could be interacting strongly with each other there. That might render quarks grouped in clusters, although the hypothetical quark-clusters in cold dense matter has not been confirmed due to the lack of both theoretical and experimental evidence. Motivated by recent lattice QCD simulations of the H-dibaryons (with structure uuddss), we are therefore considering here a possible kind of quark-clusters, H-clusters, that could emerge inside compact stars during their initial cooling, as the dominant components inside (the degree of freedom could then be H-clusters there).Taking into account the in-medium stiffening effect, we find that at baryon densities of compact stars $H$-cluster matter could be more stable than nuclear matter. We also find that for the H-cluster matter with lattice structure, the equation of state could be so stiff that it would seem to be "superluminal" in most dense region. However, the real sound speed for H-cluster matter is in fact hard to calculate, so at this stage we do not put constraints on our model from the usual requirment of causality.

Lattice QCD ensembles with four flavors of highly improved staggered quarks

We present results from our simulations of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) with four flavors of quarks: u, d, s, and c. These simulations are performed with a one-loop Symanzik improved gauge action, and the highly improved staggered quark (HISQ) action. We are generating gauge configurations with four values of the lattice spacing ranging from 0.06 fm to 0.15 fm, and three values of the light quark mass, including the value for which the Goldstone pion mass is equal to the physical pion mass. We discuss simulation algorithms, scale setting, taste symmetry breaking, and the autocorrelations of various quantities. We also present results for the topological susceptibility which demonstrate the improvement of the HISQ configurations relative to those generated earlier with the asqtad improved staggered action.