The lattice gauge theory approach to quantum chromodynamics

Abstract

The author reviews in a pedagogical fashion some of the recent developments in lattice quantum chromodynamics. This review emphasizes explicit examples and illustrations rather than general proofs and analyses. It begins with a discussion of the heavy-quark potential in continuum quantum chromodynamics. Asymptotic freedom and renormalization-group improved perturbation theory are discussed. A simple dielectric model of confinement is considered as an intuitive guide to the vacuum of non-Abelian gauge theories. Next, the Euclidean form of lattice gauge theory is introduced, and an assortment of calculational methods are reviewed. These include high-temperature expansions, duality, Monte Carlo computer simulations, and weak coupling expansions. A $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$- parameter calculation for asymptotically free-spin models is presented. The Hamiltonian formulation of lattice gauge theory is presented and is illustrated in the context of flux tube dynamics. Roughening transitions, Casimir forces, and the restoration of rotational symmetry are discussed. Mechanisms of confinement in lattice theories are illustrated in the two-dimensional electrodynamics of the planar model and the U(1) gauge theory in four dimensions. Generalized actions for SU(2) gauge theories and the relevance of monopoles and strings to crossover phenomena are considered. A brief discussion of the continuity of fields and topological charge in asymptotically free lattice models is presented. The final major topic of this review concerns lattice fermions. The species doubling problem and its relation to chiral symmetry are illustrated. Staggered Euclidean fermion methods are discussed in detail, with an emphasis on species counting, remnants of chiral symmetry, Block spin variables, and the axial anomaly. Numerical methods for including fermions in computer simulations are considered. Jacobi and Gauss-Siedel inversion methods to obtain the fermion propagator in a background gauge field are reviewed. Langevin, pseudofermion Monte Carlo methods, and random walk methods are discussed, as are proposals for including the fermion determinant in computer simulations. Finally, spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in lattice models is discussed. The review ends with brief remarks about present research directions.