Photon mass term as an IR regularization for QCD+QED on the lattice

TL;DR

This paper investigates using a photon mass term as an infrared regulator in lattice QCD+QED to mitigate volume artifacts, offering an alternative to traditional extrapolation methods for more reliable hadron mass calculations.

Contribution

It proposes and explores the viability of a photon mass term as an IR regulator in lattice QCD+QED, providing a new approach to handle long-range interaction artifacts.

Findings

Photon mass term effectively regulates IR divergences.

Potential reduction in volume artifacts compared to traditional methods.

Applicability to hadron mass shift calculations.

Abstract

Inclusion of QED in lattice QCD calculations can lead to power-law volume artifacts as a consequence of the long-range nature of the interaction. Such artifacts must be removed by extrapolation in order to attain reliable infinite volume estimates of observables and quantities derived from them. As an alternative to this methodology, we consider the use of a photon mass term as an infrared regulator for QCD+QED, and explore the viability of its use in determining hadron mass shifts and splittings.