Gluon Mass from Instantons

TL;DR

This paper calculates the gluon propagator in an instanton background to extract a momentum-dependent gluon mass, finding a gauge-independent mass of approximately 400 MeV at low momenta.

Contribution

It introduces a method to determine the gluon mass from instanton effects in a specific gauge, providing a gauge-independent estimate at low momenta.

Findings

Gluon mass is about 400 MeV at small momenta.

Gluon mass estimate is independent of gauge parameter in the studied gauge.

Method connects instanton effects to gluon mass extraction.

Abstract

The gluon propagator is calculated in the instanton background in a form appropriate for extracting the momentum dependent gluon mass. In background-$\xi$-gauge we get for the mass $400$MeV for small $p^2$ independent of the gauge parameter $\xi$.