# Yang-Mills ghost propagator in linear covariant gauges

## TL;DR

This paper derives a one-loop analytical expression for the ghost propagator in SU(3) Yang-Mills theory within linear covariant gauges, revealing infrared suppression and zero at zero momentum, aligning with some lattice data.

## Contribution

It provides the first analytical expression for the ghost propagator in linear covariant gauges using a screened expansion approach.

## Key findings

- Ghost dressing function is suppressed in the infrared
- Function vanishes at zero momentum
- No detectable deviation from Landau gauge in available lattice data

## Abstract

From first principles, using a screened expansion, a simple one-loop analytical expression is provided for the ghost propagator of pure SU(3) Yang-Mills theory in a generic linear covariant gauge. At variance with the Landau gauge, the ghost dressing function is suppressed in the infrared and vanishes at $p=0$, as predicted by other approaches in the continuum. However, in the very limited range where lattice data are available no detectable deviation is found from the Landau gauge, thus reconciling some recent lattice data and previous continuum predictions.