Published September 1, 2005 | Version v1
Journal article

Static potential and local color fields in unquenched lattice QCD3

  • 1. Simon Fraser University, Department of Physics, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby BC V5A 1S6 (Canada)

Description

String breaking by dynamical quarks in three-dimensional lattice QCD is analyzed through measurements of the potential and the local color-electric field strength generated by a static quark-antiquark pair. Simulations were done for unquenched SU(2) color with two flavors of staggered light quarks. An improved gluon action was used, which allows simulations to be done on coarse lattices, providing an extremely efficient means to access the large quark separations and long propagation times at which string breaking occurs. The static sources were generated using Wilson loop operators, hence no light valence quarks are present in the resulting trial states. Results give unambiguous evidence of string breaking. First the static potential is shown to saturate at twice the heavy-light meson mass at large separations. Then it is demonstrated that the local color-electric field strength in the region between the heavy quarks tends towards vacuum values at large separations, the first time that this most graphic effect of quark vacuum polarization on the confining flux-tube has been realized in lattice QCD. Implications of these results for unquenched simulations of four-dimensional QCD are drawn

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. D, Particles Fields
Journal Volume
72
Journal Issue
5
Journal Page Range
p. 054505-054505.8
ISSN
0556-2821
CODEN
PRVDAQ

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2005 The American Physical Society