We investigate the possibility that the dimension 2 condensate A 2 µ has a non zero non-perturbative value in Yang-Mills theory. We introduce a multiplicatively renormalisable effective potential for this condensate and show through two loop calculations that a non zero condensate is energetically favoured.

Lattice gauge theories, which originated from particle physics in the context of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), provide an important intellectual stimulus to further develop quantum information technologies. While one long-term goal is the reliable quantum simulation of currently intractable aspects of QCD itself, lattice gauge theories also play an important role in condensed matter physics and in quantum information science. In this way, lattice gauge theories provide both motivation and a framework for interdisciplinary research towards the development of special purpose digital and analog quantum simulators, and ultimately of scalable universal quantum computers. In this manuscript, recent results and new tools from a quantum science approach to study lattice gauge theories are reviewed. Two new complementary approaches are discussed: first, tensor network methods are presented-a classical simulation approachapplied to the study of lattice gauge theories together with some results on

The matrix product state formalism is used to simulate Hamiltonian lattice gauge theories. To this end, we define matrix product state manifolds which are manifestly gauge invariant. As an application, we study 1+1 dimensional one flavor quantum electrodynamics, also known as the massive Schwinger model, and are able to determine very accurately the ground state properties and elementary one-particle excitations in the continuum limit. In particular, a novel particle excitation in the form of a heavy vector boson is uncovered, compatible with the strong coupling expansion in the continuum. We also study full quantum non-equilibrium dynamics by simulating the real-time evolution of the system induced by a quench in the form of a uniform background electric field. PACS numbers:Gauge theories hold a most prominent place in physics. They appear as effective low energy descriptions at different instances in condensed matter physics and nuclear physics. But far and foremost they lie at the root of our understanding of the four fundamental interactions that are each mediated by the gauge fields corresponding to a particular gauge symmetry. At the perturbative quantum level, this picture translates to the Feynman diagrammatic approach that has produced physical predictions with unlevelled precision, most famously in quantum electrodynamics (QED). However the perturbative approach miserably fails once the interactions become strong. This problem is most pressing for quantum chromodynamics (QCD), where all low energy features like quark confinement, chiral symmetry breaking and mass generation are essentially non-perturbative.Lattice QCD, which is based on Monte Carlo sampling of Wilson's Euclidean lattice version of gauge theories, has historically been by far the most successful method in tackling this strongly coupled regime. Using up a sizable fraction of the global supercomputer time, state of the art calculations have now reached impressive accuracy, for instance in the ab initio determination of the light hadron masses [1]. But in spite of its clear superiority, the lattice Monte Carlo sampling also suffers from a few drawbacks. There is the infamous sign problem that prevents application to systems with large fermionic densities. In addition, the use of Euclidean time, as opposed to real time, presents a serious barrier for the understanding of dynamical non-equilibrium phenomena. Over the last few years there has been a growing experimental and theoretical interest in precisely these elusive regimes, e.g. in the study of heavy ion collisions or early time cosmology.In this letter we study the application of tensor network states (TNS) as a possible complementary approach to the numerical simulation of gauge theories. This is highly relevant as this Hamiltonian method is free from the sign problem and allows for real-time dynamics. As a first application we focus on the massive Schwinger model. For this model the TNS approach has been studied before by Byrnes et al [2] and Bañuls et al [3]. By integrating out the ...

We present an operational procedure to transform global symmetries into local symmetries at the level of individual quantum states, as opposed to typical gauging prescriptions for Hamiltonians or Lagrangians. We then construct a compatible gauging map for operators, which preserves locality and reproduces the minimal coupling scheme for simple operators. By combining this construction with the formalism of projected entangled-pair states (PEPS), we can show that an injective PEPS for the matter fields is gauged into a G-injective PEPS for the combined gauge-matter system, which potentially has topological order. We derive the corresponding parent Hamiltonian, which is a frustration free gauge theory Hamiltonian closely related to the Kogut-Susskind Hamiltonian at zero coupling constant. We can then introduce gauge dynamics at finite values of the coupling constant by applying a local filtering operation. This scheme results in a low-parameter family of gauge invariant states of which we can accurately probe the phase diagram, as we illustrate by studying a Z2 gauge theory with Higgs matter.

We study spherically symmetric solutions in f (R) theories and its compatibility with local tests of gravity. We start by clarifying the range of validity of the weak field expansion and show that for many models proposed to address the Dark Energy problem this expansion breaks down in realistic situations. This invalidates the conclusions of several papers that make inappropriate use of this expansion. For the stable models that modify gravity only at small curvatures we find that when the asymptotic background curvature is large we approximately recover the solutions of Einstein gravity through the so-called Chameleon mechanism, as a result of the non-linear dynamics of the extra scalar degree of freedom contained in the metric. In these models one would observe a transition from Einstein to scalar-tensor gravity as the Universe expands and the background curvature diminishes. Assuming an adiabatic evolution we estimate the redshift at which this transition would take place for a source with given mass and radius. We also show that models of dynamical Dark Energy claimed to be compatible with tests of gravity because the mass of the scalar is large in vacuum (e.g. those that also include R 2 corrections in the action), are not viable.