Non-compact QED(3) coupled to a four-fermi interaction

TL;DR

This paper reports preliminary lattice simulation results for three-dimensional non-compact QED with a weak four-fermion interaction, estimating the critical fermion flavor number for chiral symmetry breaking.

Contribution

It introduces an improved algorithm enabling simulations in the chiral limit and provides estimates of the critical fermion flavor number in non-compact QED(3).

Findings

Critical fermion flavor number estimated between 1 and 4.

Weak four-fermion coupling improves simulation accuracy.

Algorithm allows study of massless fermions in the chiral limit.

Abstract

We present preliminary numerical results for the three dimensional non-compact QED with a weak four-fermion term in the lattice action. Approaches based on Schwinger-Dyson studies, arguments based on thermodynamic inequalities and numerical simulations lead to estimates of the critical number of fermion flavors (below which chiral symmetry is broken) ranging from $N_{fc}=1$ to $N_{fc}=4$. The weak four-fermion coupling provides the framework for an improved algorithm, which allows us to simulate the chiral limit of massless fermions and expose delicate effects.