Search arXiv⌕ Search

arXiv · hep-lat/9604012

Lattice Gauge Fields and Noncommutative Geometry

Abstract

Conventional approaches to lattice gauge theories do not properly consider the topology of spacetime or of its fields. In this paper, we develop a formulation which tries to remedy this defect. It starts from a cubical decomposition of the supporting manifold (compactified spacetime or spatial slice) interpreting it as a finite topological approximation in the sense of Sorkin. This finite space is entirely described by the algebra of cochains with the cup product. The methods of Connes and Lott are then used to develop gauge theories on this algebra and to derive Wilson's actions for the gauge and Dirac fields therefrom which can now be given geometrical meaning. We also describe very natural candidates for the QCD theta term and Chern-Simons action suggested by this algebraic formulation. Some of these formulations are simpler than currently available alternatives. The paper treats both the functional integral and Hamiltonian approaches.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

A. P. Balachandran, G. Bimonte, G. Landi, F. Lizzi, P. Teotonio-Sobrinho. 1996-12-27. Lattice Gauge Fields and Noncommutative Geometry. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0393-0440(97)00017-x

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Decomposition of the axial-vector current in a finite box

We consider the matrix element of the axial-vector current between two nucleon states in a finite box. Starting from the chiral Lagrangian density with nucleon and Delta-isobar degrees of freedom, we study the finite-volume effects at the one-loop level. We show that the standard decomposition into the axial-vector and pseudoscalar form factor is incomplete in a finite box. We derive expressions for the complete set of in-box form factors at one loop, and demonstrate how to extract the full set from lattice correlation functions. We verify that the axial Ward identity holds in the chiral limit. We derive the one-loop expressions for the pseudoscalar form factor and verify that the in-box axial Ward identity away from the chiral limit is fulfilled also. Selected numerical results are shown for two flavor-SU(2) lattice ensembles. Sizable finite-volume effects are observed, with an important role for the Delta-isobar. We discuss the implications of our results for lattice studies of the axial-vector current. We conclude that full finite-box results are crucial for a precise determination of the form factors.

hep-lat↗

A variational framework for variance reduction in lattice field theory

The signal-to-noise problem limits the reach of many lattice calculations. We present a variational framework that recasts it as a transport problem: the loss of signal reflects a mismatch between the distribution one samples and the one needed to measure an observable, and can be reduced by transporting configurations to close that gap. The optimal transport is typically determined either through a stochastic estimator based on Langevin dynamics or by parametrising it as a normalising flow trained with automatic differentiation. We discuss how the framework brings these methods under a common variational principle and present results for scalar theories.

hep-lat↗

Larger physical volume and bounds on the number of matter fields in noncompact gauge theories on a lattice

The work was motivated by the numerical result that in a pure SU(2) gauge theory the ratio R of the effective non-compact and compact lattice spacing is larger than 1 and increasing with decreasing gauge coupling, as well as the expectation that it should further increase extending the parameter space. This means that with a noncompact regularization, at given number of lattice sites and comparable scaling, one can obtain a larger physical volume, whose importance for the control of size effects has long been known. We confirm qualitatively results and expectation by a perturbative evaluation of the effective lattice spacing in an expansion in the Plank constant of non-compact pure SU(2) and Abelian gauge theories, but we find in addition that R reaches the maximum value of sqrt(2). Including matter fields we find that R increases ( still up to sqrt(2) ) or decreases depending on the difference between the number of scalar and spinor degrees of freedom, and there are bounds on such a difference.

hep-lat↗