The 4D SU(3) gauge theory with an imaginary theta term

TL;DR

This paper investigates the 4D SU(3) gauge theory with an imaginary theta term using Monte Carlo simulations, revealing scaling behavior and precise estimates of energy expansion coefficients near theta=0.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed numerical analysis of the imaginary theta dependence in 4D SU(3) gauge theory, including accurate coefficient estimations.

Findings

Evidence of scaling in the continuum limit

Accurate estimates of expansion coefficients up to O(theta^6)

Good description of ground-state energy dependence on imaginary theta

Abstract

We study the scaling behavior of the 4D SU(3) lattice gauge theory in the presence of a theta term, by Monte Carlo simulations computing the topological properties at imaginary theta. The numerical results provide a good evidence of scaling in the continuum limit. The imaginary theta dependence of the ground-state energy turns out to be well described by the first few terms of related expansions around theta=0, providing accurate estimates of the first few coefficients, up to O(theta^6).