Exploration of SU(N_c) gauge theory with many Wilson fermions at strong coupling

TL;DR

This paper investigates the phase structure of SU(2) and SU(3) lattice gauge theories with many Wilson fermions at strong coupling, revealing deviations in meson mass behavior that impact understanding of infrared fixed points.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the non-analytic behavior of pseudoscalar meson masses at strong coupling with many flavors, relevant for IR fixed point studies.

Findings

Deviations from expected meson mass dependence at large N_f

Implications for infrared fixed point searches

Analysis of phase structure at strong coupling

Abstract

We explore aspects of the phase structure of SU(2) and SU(3) lattice gauge theories at strong coupling with many flavours $N_f$ of Wilson fermions in the fundamental representation. The pseudoscalar meson mass as a function of hopping parameter is observed to deviate from the expected analytic dependence, at least for sufficiently large $N_f$. Implications of this effect are discussed, including the relevance to recent searches for an infrared fixed point.