The staggered domain wall fermion method

TL;DR

This paper introduces staggered domain wall fermions, a new lattice fermion method in 2n+1 dimensions that preserves chiral symmetry and offers advantages for lattice QCD simulations.

Contribution

It presents a novel fermion formulation that maintains chiral symmetry and provides a different perspective on flavor mixing in lattice fermions.

Findings

Exact U(1) x U(1) chiral symmetry in 2n dimensions.

Localization of chiral flavors on boundaries as extra dimension grows.

Potential advantages for numerical lattice QCD simulations.

Abstract

A different lattice fermion method is introduced. Staggered domain wall fermions are defined in 2n+1 dimensions and describe 2^n flavors of light lattice fermions with exact U(1) x U(1) chiral symmetry in 2n dimensions. As the size of the extra dimension becomes large, 2^n chiral flavors with the same chiral charge are expected to be localized on each boundary and the full SU(2^n) x SU(2^n) flavor chiral symmetry is expected to be recovered. SDWF give a different perspective into the inherent flavor mixing of lattice fermions and by design present an advantage for numerical simulations of lattice QCD thermodynamics. The chiral and topological index properties of the SDWF Dirac operator are investigated. And, there is a surprise ending...