Testing universality and the fractional power prescription for the staggered fermion determinant

TL;DR

This paper reviews previous work on lattice fermion determinants to test universality in Lattice QCD, focusing on the fractional power prescription for staggered fermions, and clarifies the gauge field independence of the universality anomaly.

Contribution

It clarifies the status of the universality anomaly and assesses the fractional power prescription's validity in dynamical staggered fermion simulations.

Findings

The universality anomaly is gauge field-independent.

The fractional power prescription is critically examined.

Supplementary material clarifies previous results.

Abstract

In [Phys.Rev.Lett.92:162002 (2004), hep-lat/0312025] expressions for the continuous Euclidean time limits of various lattice fermion determinants were derived and compared in order to test universality expectations in Lattice QCD. Here we review that work with emphasis on its relevance for assessing the fractional power prescription for the determinant in dynamical staggered fermion simulations. Some new supplementary material is presented; in particular the status of the "universality anomaly" is clarified: it is shown to be gauge field-independent and therefore physically inconsequential.