Testing Fermion Universality at a Conformal Fixed Point

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether different fermion formulations exhibit universal behavior at a non-perturbative infrared fixed point in conformal systems, using lattice simulations and comparing results across methods.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparison of fermion universality at a conformal fixed point using domain wall and staggered fermions.

Findings

Consistent step scaling functions across fermion formulations.

Evidence supporting universality at the conformal fixed point.

Comparison with perturbative predictions shows qualitative agreement.

Abstract

Universality of various fermion formulations is well established in QCD-like theories defined around the perturbative $g^2=0$ fixed point. These arguments do not apply for conformal systems that exhibit an infrared fixed point at non-vanishing $g^2$ coupling. We investigate the step scaling function for systems with 10 or 12 fundamental flavors using domain wall fermions and compare it to perturbative predictions. We test universality by contrasting our findings to results published in the literature based on staggered fermions.