Simulating dynamical fermions with smeared links

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new algorithm for simulating dynamical HYP smeared fermions in lattice QCD, which enhances flavor symmetry and maintains efficiency at small quark masses.

Contribution

A novel algorithm for simulating dynamical HYP smeared fermions that preserves efficiency at small quark masses and improves flavor symmetry.

Findings

Improved flavor symmetry with hypercubic smearing

Algorithm maintains efficiency at small quark masses

Successful simulation of four and two flavors of staggered fermions

Abstract

Smearing the gauge links of dynamical configurations removes small scale unphysical vacuum fluctuations and thus improves the chiral properties of lattice fermions. Recently we proposed the hypercubic smearing (HYP) that improves the flavor symmetry of staggered fermions by an order of magnitude with only minimal distortions at small distances. We describe a new algorithm to simulate dynamical HYP fermions based on the standard pure gauge overrelaxation and heatbath updates. The algorithm has been used to simulate four and two flavors of staggered fermions. Unlike standard dynamical simulation techniques, this algorithm does not loose efficiency at small quark masses.