Exploration of the phase structure of $SU(N_c)$ lattice gauge theory with many Wilson fermions at strong coupling

TL;DR

This study investigates the phase structure of SU(2) and SU(3) lattice gauge theories with many Wilson fermions at strong coupling, revealing deviations from expected behaviors and discussing implications for phase transitions and conformal windows.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the phase structure of lattice gauge theories with many flavors, especially at strong coupling, highlighting deviations from analytic predictions.

Findings

Deviations from expected analytic dependence in meson and quark masses.

Implications for the existence of a bulk phase and Aoki phase at large flavor-to-color ratios.

Discussion of the phase structure relevant to the conformal window.

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, including the relevance to recent searches for a conformal window. The pseudoscalar meson mass, the quark mass and other quantities are observed as functions of the hopping parameter, and we find deviations from the expected analytic dependence, at least for sufficiently large $N_f$. Implications of these effects for the phase structure and for the existence of a (first order) bulk phase and the Aoki phase are discussed in the case of $N_f/N_c \gg 1$.