Light quarks on the lattice: methods and results for pion physics

Abstract

Ab-initio studies of the physics of pions using lattice QCD have become possible over the last decade, where particular attention was given to the computation of the constants of the chiral Lagrangian. This is due to significant progress in algorithms, which now allow simulations with light sea quarks on fine lattices. This short writeup has two objectives: the first is to introduce the ideas behind the algorithmic advances along with the status and prospects of the simulations. After that, the state of the physics results will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on the chiral low-energy constants.