Yang-Mills Theory in lambda-Gauges

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the infrared properties of Yang-Mills theory, including propagators and the color-Coulomb potential, change continuously across a family of lambda-gauges interpolating between Landau and Coulomb gauges, in SU(2) lattice gauge theory.

Contribution

It provides the first systematic study of propagators and the color-Coulomb potential in lambda-gauges, revealing continuous gauge dependence in SU(2) lattice gauge theory.

Findings

Quantities evolve continuously with the gauge parameter at non-zero momenta.

Discontinuity observed at zero four-momentum.

Results span three and four space-time dimensions.

Abstract

The gauge-independent phenomenon of color confinement in Yang-Mills theory manifests itself differently in different gauges. Therefore, the gauge dependence of quantities related to the infrared structure of the theory becomes important for understanding the confinement mechanism. Particularly useful are classes of gauges that are controlled by a single gauge parameter. We present results on propagators and the color-Coulomb potential for the so-called lambda-gauges, which interpolate between the (minimal) Landau gauge and the (minimal complete) Coulomb gauge. Results are reported for the SU(2) lattice gauge theory in three and four space-time dimensions. We investigate especially intermediate and low momenta. We find a continuous evolution of all quantities with the gauge parameter, except at zero four-momentum.