Glueball Regge Trajectories

TL;DR

This paper explores the spectrum of glueballs in 3D and 4D SU(N) gauge theories, developing new lattice methods to analyze their spin states and investigate their placement on Regge trajectories, supporting the connection to the pomeron.

Contribution

It introduces novel lattice techniques for accurately determining higher spin glueball states in SU(N) gauge theories.

Findings

Glueball states tend to lie on Regge trajectories.

Evidence supports the connection between glueballs and the pomeron.

New methods improve the reliability of spin state determination.

Abstract

We investigate the spectrum of glueballs in 3D and 4D SU(N) gauge theories. Our motivation is to determine whether the states lie on straight Regge trajectories. To this end we develop new lattice techniques to reliably determine the states carrying higher spin. It has been conjectured for a long time that glueballs are the physical states lying on the pomeron, the trajectory responsible for the slowly rising hadronic cross-sections at large centre-of-mass energy.