Search

Single-spin asymmetries observed in polarised deep-inelastic scattering are important probes of hadron structure. The Sivers asymmetry has been the focus of much attention in QCD phenomenology and is yet to be understood at the quark level. In this Letter, we present a lattice QCD calculation of the spatial distribution of a colour-Lorentz force acting on the struck quark in a proton. We determine a spin-independent confining force, as well as spin-dependent force distributions with local forces on the order of 3 GeV/fm. These distributions offer a complementary picture of the Sivers asymmetry in transversely polarised deep-inelastic scattering., Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures

We present a determination of the structure functions of the off-forward Compton amplitude $\mathcal{H}_1$ and $\mathcal{E}_1$ from the Feynman-Hellmann method in lattice QCD. At leading twist, these structure functions give access to the generalised parton distributions (GPDs) $H$ and $E$, respectively. This calculation is performed for an unphysical pion mass of $m_{\pi}=412\;\text{MeV}$ and four values of the soft momentum transfer, $t\approx 0, -0.3, -0.6, -1.1\;\text{GeV}^2$, all at a hard momentum scale of $\bar{Q}^2\approx 5\;\text{GeV}^2$. Using these results, we test various methods to determine properties of the real-time scattering amplitudes and GPDs: (1) we fit their Mellin moments, and (2) we use a simple GPD ansatz to reconstruct the entire distribution. Our final results show promising agreement with phenomenology and other lattice results, and highlight specific systematics in need of control., Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures. Minor updates to text. Version to appear in Phys. Rev. D

The dominant contribution to the theoretical uncertainty in the extracted weak parameters of the Standard Model comes from the hadronic uncertainties in the electroweak boxes, i.e. $\gamma-W^\pm/Z$ exchange diagrams. A dispersive analysis relates the box diagrams to the parity-odd structure function, $F_3$, for which the experimental data either do not exist or belong to a separate isospin channel. Therefore a first-principles calculation of $F_3$ is highly desirable. In this contribution, we report on the QCDSF/UKQCD Collaboration's progress in calculating the moments of the $F_3^{\gamma Z}$ structure function from the forward Compton amplitude at the SU(3) symmetric point., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to the 40th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2023) July 31st - August 4th, 2023, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia IL, USA

The structure of hadrons relevant for deep-inelastic scattering are completely characterised by the Compton amplitude. A direct calculation of the Compton amplitude in a lattice QCD setup provides a way to accessing the structure functions, circumventing the operator mixing and renormalisation issues of the standard operator product expansion approach. In this contribution, we focus on the QCDSF/UKQCD Collaboration's advances in calculating the forward Compton amplitude via an implementation of the second-order Feynman-Hellmann theorem. We highlight our progress in investigating the moments of nucleon structure functions., Comment: Presented at DIS2023: XXX International Workshop on Deep-Inelastic Scattering and Related Subjects, Michigan State University, USA, 27-31 March 2023. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2212.09197, arXiv:2110.01310

The Feynman--Hellmann approach to computing matrix elements in lattice QCD by first adding a perturbing operator to the action is described using the transition matrix and the Dyson expansion formalism. This perturbs the energies in the two-point baryon correlation function, from which the matrix element can be obtained. In particular at leading order in the perturbation we need to diagonalise a matrix of near-degenerate energies. While the method is general for all hadrons, we apply it here to a study of a Sigma to Nucleon baryon transition vector matrix element., Comment: 50 pages. Minor typos fixed. Published version

With increasing requirements for greater precision, it becomes essential to describe the effects of isospin breaking induced by both quark masses and electro-magnetic effects. In this work we perform a lattice analysis of the weak decay constants of the neutral pseudoscalar mesons including such isospin breaking effects, with particular consideration being given to the state mixing of the $\pi^0$, $\eta$ and $\eta^\prime$. We also detail extensions to the non-perturbative RI$^\prime$-MOM renormalization scheme for application to non-degenerate flavour-neutral operators which are permitted to mix, and present initial results. Using flavour-breaking expansions in terms of quark masses and charges we determine the leptonic decay constants for the $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ mesons, demonstrating in principle how precision determinations of all neutral pseudoscalar decay constants could be reached in lattice QCD with QED and strong isospin-breaking accounted for., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, analysis of charged mesons has been removed

At the TeV scale, low-energy precision observations of neutron characteristics provide unique probes of novel physics. Precision studies of neutron decay observables are susceptible to beyond the Standard Model (BSM) tensor and scalar interactions, while the neutron electric dipole moment, $d_n$, also has high sensitivity to new BSM CP-violating interactions. To fully utilise the potential of future experimental neutron physics programs, matrix elements of appropriate low-energy effective operators within neutron states must be precisely calculated. We present results from the QCDSF/UKQCD/CSSM collaboration for the isovector charges $g_T,~g_A$ and $g_S$ of the nucleon, $\Sigma$ and $\Xi$ baryons using lattice QCD methods and the Feynman-Hellmann theorem. We use a flavour symmetry breaking method to systematically approach the physical quark mass using ensembles that span five lattice spacings and multiple volumes. We extend this existing flavour breaking expansion to also account for lattice spacing and finite volume effects in order to quantify all systematic uncertainties. Our final estimates of the nucleon isovector charges are $g_T~=~1.010(21)_{\text{stat}}(12)_{\text{sys}},~g_A=1.253(63)_{\text{stat}}(41)_{\text{sys}}$ and $g_S~=~1.08(21)_{\text{stat}}(03)_{\text{sys}}$ renormalised, where appropriate, at $\mu=2~\text{GeV}$ in the $\overline{\text{MS}}$ scheme., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, 10 tables

The standard method for determining matrix elements in lattice QCD requires the computation of three-point correlation functions. This has the disadvantage of requiring two large time separations: one between the hadron source and operator and the other from the operator to the hadron sink. Here we consider an alternative formalism, based on the Dyson expansion leading to the Feynman-Hellmann theorem, which only requires the computation of two-point correlation functions. Both the cases of degenerate energy levels and quasi-degenerate energy levels which correspond to diagonal and transition matrix elements respectively can be considered in this formalism. As an example numerical results for the Sigma to Nucleon vector transition matrix element are presented., Comment: Proceedings of the 39th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 8-13 August 2022, Bonn, Germany

We present a simultaneous extraction of the moments of $F_2$ and $F_L$ structure functions of the proton for a range of photon virtuality, $Q^2$. This is achieved by computing the forward Compton amplitude on the lattice utilizing the second-order Feynman-Hellmann theorem. Our calculations are performed on configurations with two different lattice spacings and volumes, all at the $SU(3)$ symmetric point. We find the moments of $F_{2}$ and $F_{L}$ in good agreement with experiment. Power corrections turn out to be significant. This is the first time the $Q^2$ dependence of the lowest moment of $F_2$ has been quantified., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables. Version to appear in PRD

Theoretical predictions of the proton--neutron mass difference and measurements of the proton's charge radius require inputs from the Compton amplitude subtraction function. Model-dependent and non-relativistic calculations of this subtraction function vary significantly, and hence it contributes sizeable uncertainties to the aforementioned physical quantities. We report on the use of Feynman-Hellmann methods in lattice QCD to calculate the subtraction function from first principles. In particular, our initial results show anomalous high-energy behaviour that is at odds with the prediction from the operator product expansion (OPE). Therefore, we investigate the possibility that this unexpected behaviour is due to lattice artifacts, by varying the lattice spacing and volume, and comparing different discretisations of the vector current. Finally, we explore a Feynman-Hellmann implementation that is less sensitive to short-distance contributions and show that the subtraction function's anomalous behaviour can be attributed to these short-distance contributions. As such, this work represents the first steps in achieving a complete understanding of the Compton amplitude subtraction function., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Contribution to the 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, LATTICE2021 26th-30th July, 2021 Zoom/Gather@Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Wang-Landau simulations offer the possibility to integrate explicitly over a collective coordinate and stochastically over the remainder of configuration space. We propose to choose the so-called "slow mode", which is responsible for large autocorrelation times and thus critical slowing down, for collective integration. We study this proposal for the Ising model and the linear-log-relaxation (LLR) method as simulation algorithm. We firstly demonstrate super critical slowing down in a phase with spontaneously broken symmetry and for the heatbath algorithms, for which autocorrelation times grow exponentially with system size. By contrast, using the magnetisation as collective coordinate, we present evidence that super critical slowing down is absent. We still observe a polynomial increase of the autocorrelation time with volume (critical slowing down), which is however reduced by orders of magnitude when compared to local update techniques., Comment: Author accepted version for publication in Physical Review E, 15 pages, 15 figures

We compute the renormalisation factors of the quark mass and wave function using IMOM (Interpolating MOMenta) schemes. The framework is the Rome-Southampton non-renormalisation method, but the momentum transfer in the quark bilinears is not restricted to zero or to the symmetric point. We study the scale dependence, infrared contamination and lattice artefacts for different values of this momentum transfer and for two different kinds of projectors. For the numerical simulations, we use data generated by the RBC-UKQCD collaborations, with $N_f = 2+1$ flavours of Domain-Wall fermions, and inverse lattice spacing of $1.79 $ and $2.38$ GeV., Comment: Talk presented at the 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, LATTICE2021 26th-30th July, 2021 Zoom/Gather@Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lattice QCD calculations of the nucleon electromagnetic form factors are of interest at both the high and low momentum transfer regions. For high momentum transfers especially there are open questions which require more intense study, such as the potential zero crossing in the proton's electric form factor. We will present recent progress from the QCDSF/UKQCD/CSSM collaboration on the calculation of these form factors using the Feynman-Hellmann method in lattice QCD. The Feynman-Hellmann method allows for greater control over excited states which we take advantage of by going to high values of the momentum transfer. In this proceeding we present results of the form factors up to $6 \textrm{GeV}^{2}$, using $N_{f}=2+1$ flavour fermions for three different pion masses in the range 310-470 $\textrm{MeV}$. The results are extrapolated to the physical pion mass through the use of a flavour breaking expansion., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, proceeding for the 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2021), 26-30 Jul 2021, Zoom/Gather@MIT, USA

We present updates from QCDSF/UKQCD/CSSM on the $SU(3)_f$ breaking in $B$ meson decay constants. The $b$-quarks are generated with an anisotropic clover-improved action, and are tuned to match properties of the physical $B$ and $B^*$ mesons. Configurations are generated with $\overline{m}=(1/3)(2m_l+m_s)$ kept constant to control symmetry breaking effects. Various sources of systematic uncertainty will be discussed, including those from continuum extrapolations and extrapolations to the physical point. We also present new efforts to calculate $f_B$ and $f_{B_s}$ using weighted averages across multiple time fitting regions. The use of an automated weighted averaging technique over multiple fitting ranges allows for timely tuning of the $b$-quark and reduces the impact of systematic errors from fitting range biases in calculations of $f_B$ and $f_{B_s}$, Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, proceedings for The 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, LATTICE2021, 26th-30th July, 2021, Zoom/Gather@Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A major objective of lattice QCD is the computation of hadronic matrix elements. The standard method is to use three-point and four-point correlation functions. An alternative approach, requiring only the computation of two-point correlation functions is to use the Feynman-Hellmann theorem. In this talk we develop this method up to second order in perturbation theory, in a context appropriate for lattice QCD. This encompasses the Compton Amplitude (which forms the basis for deep inelastic scattering) and hadron scattering. Some numerical results are presented showing results indicating what this approach might achieve., Comment: Proceedings contribution to the XXXIII International (Online) Workshop on High Energy Physics "Hard Problems of Hadron Physics: Non-Perturbative QCD & Related Quests", November 8-12, 2021

Lattice calculations of hadronic observables are aggravated by short-distance fluctuations. The gradient flow, which can be viewed as a particular realisation of the coarse-graining step of momentum space RG transformations, proves a powerful tool for evolving the lattice gauge field to successively longer length scales for any initial coupling. Already at small flow times we find the signal-to-noise ratio of two- and three-point functions significantly enhanced and the projection onto the ground state largely improved, while the effect on the hadronic observables considered here to be negligible. A further benefit is that far fewer conjugate gradient iterations are needed for the Wilson-Dirac inverter to converge. Additionally, we find the renormalisation constants of quark bilinears to be significantly closer to unity., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Contribution to the 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, LATTICE2021 26th-30th July, 2021 Zoom/Gather@Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The nucleon tensor charge, $g_T$, is an important quantity in the search for beyond the Standard Model tensor interactions in neutron and nuclear $\beta$-decays as well as the contribution of the quark electric dipole moment (EDM) to the neutron EDM. We present results from the QCDSF/UKQCD/CSSM collaboration for the tensor charge, $g_T$, using lattice QCD methods and the Feynman-Hellmann theorem. We use a flavour symmetry breaking method to systematically approach the physical quark mass using ensembles that span three lattice spacings., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, proceeding for the 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2021), 26-30 Jul 2021, Zoom/Gather@MIT, USA

Using an SU(3)-flavour symmetry breaking expansion between the strange and light quark masses, we determine how this constrains the extrapolation of baryon octet matrix elements and form factors. In particular we can construct certain combinations, which fan out from the symmetric point (when all the quark masses are degenerate) to the point where the light and strange quarks take their physical values. As a further example we consider the vector amplitude at zero momentum transfer for flavour changing currents., Comment: 8 pages, proceedings for The 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, LATTICE2021, 26th-30th July, 2021, Zoom/Gather@Massachusetts Institute of Technology

We present a lattice analysis of the light pseudoscalar mesons with consideration for the mixing between the flavour-neutral states $\pi^0$, $\eta$ and $\eta^\prime$. We extract the masses and flavour compositions of the pseudoscalar meson nonet in $n_f=1+1+1$ lattice QCD+QED around an SU(3)-flavour symmetric point, and observe flavour-symmetry features of the extracted data, along with preliminary extrapolation results for the flavour compositions at the physical point. A key result of this work is the observed mass splitting between the $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ on our ensembles, which is found to exhibit behaviour that is simply related to the corresponding flavour compositions., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Some small changes and added discussion. Version to appear in PRD

We determine the properties of generalised parton distributions (GPDs) from a lattice QCD calculation of the off-forward Compton amplitude (OFCA). By extending the Feynman-Hellmann relation to second-order matrix elements at off-forward kinematics, this amplitude can be calculated from lattice propagators computed in the presence of a background field. Using an operator product expansion, we show that the deeply-virtual part of the OFCA can be parameterised in terms of the low-order Mellin moments of the GPDs. We apply this formalism to a numerical investigation for zero-skewness kinematics at two values of the soft momentum transfer, $t = -1.1, -2.2 \;\text{GeV}^2$, and a pion mass of $m_{\pi}\approx 470\;\text{MeV}$. The form factors of the lowest two moments of the nucleon GPDs are determined, including the first lattice QCD determination of the $n=4$ moments. Hence we demonstrate the viability of this method to calculate the OFCA from first principles, and thereby provide novel constraint on the $x$- and $t$-dependence of GPDs., Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures

We highlight QCDSF/UKQCD Collaboration's recent developments on computing the Compton amplitude directly via an implementation of the second order Feynman-Hellmann theorem. As an application, we compute the nucleon Compton tensor across a range of photon virtuality at an unphysical quark mass. This enables us to study the $Q^2$ dependence of the low moments of the nucleon structure functions in a lattice calculation for the first time. We present some selected results for the moments of the $F_1$, $F_2$ and $F_L$ structure functions and discuss their implications., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to the 38th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, LATTICE2021 26th-30th July, 2021 Zoom/Gather@Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The forward Compton amplitude describes the process of virtual photon scattering from a hadron and provides an essential ingredient for the understanding of hadron structure. As a physical amplitude, the Compton tensor naturally includes all target mass corrections and higher twist effects at a fixed virtuality, $Q^2$. By making use of the second-order Feynman-Hellmann theorem, the nucleon Compton tensor is calculated in lattice QCD at an unphysical quark mass across a range of photon momenta $3 \lesssim Q^2 \lesssim 7$ GeV$^2$. This allows for the $Q^2$ dependence of the low moments of the nucleon structure functions to be studied in a lattice calculation for the first time. The results demonstrate that a systematic investigation of power corrections and the approach to parton asymptotics is now within reach., Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures. Title has been changed due to the Editor's request. Version to appear in PRD

Systems with the quantum numbers of up to twelve charged and neutral pseudoscalar mesons, as well as one-, two-, and three-nucleon systems, are studied using dynamical lattice quantum chromodynamics and quantum electrodynamics (QCD+QED) calculations and effective field theory. QED effects on hadronic interactions are determined by comparing systems of charged and neutral hadrons after tuning the quark masses to remove strong isospin breaking effects. A non-relativistic effective field theory, which perturbatively includes finite-volume Coulomb effects, is analyzed for systems of multiple charged hadrons and found to accurately reproduce the lattice QCD+QED results. QED effects on charged multi-hadron systems beyond Coulomb photon exchange are determined by comparing the two- and three-body interaction parameters extracted from the lattice QCD+QED results for charged and neutral multi-hadron systems., Comment: 67 pages, 29 figures. Published version

Computing the gluon component of momentum in the nucleon is a difficult and computationally expensive problem, as the matrix element involves a quark-line-disconnected gluon operator which suffers from ultra-violet fluctuations. But also necessary for a successful determination is the non-perturbative renormalisation of this operator. As a first step we investigate here this renormalisation in the RI-MOM scheme. Using quenched QCD as an example, a statistical signal is obtained in a direct calculation using an adaption of the Feynman-Hellmann technique., Comment: 7 pages, Proceedings of the 37th Annual International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2019), 16-22 June 2019, Wuhan, China

We have initiated a program to compute the Compton amplitude from lattice QCD with the Feynman-Hellman method. This amplitude is related to the structure function via a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. It is known that these types of equations are inherently ill--posed - they are, e.g., extremely sensitive to perturbations of the system. We discuss two methods which are candidates to handle these problems: the model free inversion based on singular value decomposition and one Bayesian type approach. We apply the Bayesian method to currently available lattice data for the Compton amplitude., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, poster presented at the 37th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2019), 16-22 June 2019, Wuhan, China

The partonic structure of hadrons plays an important role in a vast array of high-energy and nuclear physics experiments. It also underpins the theoretical understanding of hadron structure. Recent developments in lattice QCD offer new opportunities for reliably studying partonic structure from first principles. Here we report on the use of the Feynman-Hellmann theorem to study the forward Compton amplitude in the unphysical region. We demonstrate how this amplitude provides direct constraint on hadronic inelastic structure functions. The use of external momentum transfer allows us to study the $Q^2$ evolution to explore the onset of asymptotic scaling and reveal higher-twist effects in partonic structure., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures; presented at the 37th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice2019), 16-22 June 2019, Wuhan, China

Mixing in the $\Sigma^0$-$\Lambda^0$ system is a direct consequence of broken isospin symmetry and is a measure of both isospin-symmetry breaking as well as general SU(3)-flavour symmetry breaking. In this work we present a new scheme for calculating the extent of $\Sigma^0$-$\Lambda^0$ mixing using simulations in lattice QCD+QED and perform several extrapolations that compare well with various past determinations. Our scheme allows us to easily contrast the QCD-only mixing case with the full QCD+QED mixing., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures

By considering a flavour expansion about the SU(3)-flavour symmetric point, we investigate how flavour-blindness constrains octet baryon matrix elements after SU(3) is broken by the mass difference between quarks. Similarly to hadron masses we find the expansions to be constrained along a mass trajectory where the singlet quark mass is held constant, which provides invaluable insight into the mechanism of flavour symmetry breaking and proves beneficial for extrapolations to the physical point. Expansions are given up to third order in the expansion parameters. Considering higher orders would give no further constraints on the expansion parameters. The relation of the expansion coefficients to the quark-line-connected and quark-line disconnected terms in the 3-point correlation functions is also given. As we consider Wilson clover-like fermions, the addition of improvement coefficients is also discussed and shown to be included in the formalism developed here. As an example of the method we investigate this numerically via a lattice calculation of the flavour-conserving matrix elements of the vector first class form factors., Comment: 70 pages. Small additions and corrections. Published version

We report a new analysis of the isospin splittings within the decuplet baryon spectrum. Our numerical results are based upon five ensembles of dynamical QCD+QED lattices. The analysis is carried out within a flavour-breaking expansion which encodes the effects of breaking the quark masses and electromagnetic charges away from an approximate SU(3) symmetric point. The results display total isospin splittings within the approximate SU(2) multiplets that are compatible with phenomenological estimates. Further, new insight is gained into these splittings by separating the contributions arising from strong and electromagnetic effects. We also present an update of earlier results on the octet baryon spectrum., Comment: 17 pages, 7 tables, 5 figures. Version accepted for publication in J.Phys.G

The current $3.5\sigma$ discrepancy between experimental and Standard Model determinations of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon $a_\mu=(g-2)/2$ can only be extended to the discovery $5\sigma$ regime through a reduction of both experimental and theoretical uncertainties. On the theory side, this means a determination of the hadronic vacuum polarisation (HVP) contribution to better than 0.5%, a level of precision that demands the inclusion of QCD + QED effects to properly understand how the behaviour of quarks are modified when their electric charges are turned on. The QCDSF collaboration has generated an ensemble of configurations with dynamical QCD and QED fields with the specific aim of studying flavour breaking effects arising from differences in the quark masses and charges in physical quantities. Here we study these effects in a calculation of HVP around the SU(3) symmetric point. Furthermore, by performing partially-quenched simulations we are able to cover a larger range of quark masses and charges on these configurations and then fit the results to an SU(3) flavour breaking expansion. Subsequently, this allows for an extrapolation to the physical point., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, conference proceedings for talk presented at the 36th Annual International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 22-28 July 2018, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Quark line disconnected matrix elements of an operator, such as the axial current, are difficult to compute on the lattice. The standard method uses a stochastic estimator of the operator, which is generally very noisy. We discuss and develop further our alternative approach using the Feynman-Hellmann theorem which involves only evaluating two-point correlation functions. This is applied to computing the contribution of the quark spin to the nucleon and in particular for the strange quark. In this process we also pay particular attention to the development of an SU(3) flavour breaking expansion for singlet operators., Comment: 7 pages, Proceedings of the 36th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2018), July 22-28, 2018, East Lancing, USA

Early B-physics experiments have left us with a number of puzzles in heavy flavour physics. New lattice calculations (with a greater understanding of QCD effects in the Standard Model) will be needed to support the increase in experimental precision to be achieved by upcoming experiments such as Belle II. We extend the CSSM/UKQCD/QCDSF studies of SU(3) flavour breaking effects by presenting new results for the decay constants $f_B$ and $f_{B_s}$., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, conference proceedings for talk presented at the 36th Annual International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 22-28 July 2018, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Extending the SU(3) flavour symmetry breaking expansion from up, down and strange sea quark masses to partially quenched valence quark masses allows an extrapolation to the charm quark mass. This approach leads to a determination of charmed quark hadron masses and decay constants. We describe our recent progress and give preliminary results in particular with regard to the recently discovered doubly charmed baryon by the LHCb Collaboration., Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, talk presented at the 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 18-24 June 2017, Granada, Spain

Deep-inelastic scattering, in the laboratory and on the lattice, is most instructive for understanding how the nucleon is built from quarks and gluons. The long-term goal is to compute the associated structure functions from first principles. So far this has been limited to model calculations. In this Letter we propose a new method to compute the structure functions directly from the virtual, all-encompassing Compton amplitude, utilizing the operator product expansion. This overcomes issues of renormalization and operator mixing, which so far have hindered lattice calculations of power corrections and higher moments., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, meets published version (Phys. Rev. Letters)

Accessing hadronic form factors at large momentum transfers has traditionally presented a challenge for lattice QCD simulations. Here we demonstrate how a novel implementation of the Feynman-Hellmann method can be employed to calculate hadronic form factors in lattice QCD at momenta much higher than previously accessible. Our simulations are performed on a single set of gauge configurations with three flavours of degenerate mass quarks corresponding to $m_\pi \approx 470 \text{ MeV}$. We are able to determine the electromagnetic form factors of the pion and nucleon up to approximately $6 \text{ GeV}^2$, with results for $G_E/G_M$ in the proton agreeing well with experimental results.

We investigate implications of the use of the point-split axial vector current derived from a Wilson like fermionic action. We compute the corresponding renormalization factor nonperturbatively for one beta value. The axial charge gA calculated from this nonlocal current is found to be nearer to the physical value than computed with the local axial vector current -- computed both on the same lattice with the same action., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

The SU(3) flavour symmetry breaking expansion in up, down and strange quark masses is extended from hadron masses to meson decay constants. This allows a determination of the ratio of kaon to pion decay constants in QCD. Furthermore when using partially quenched valence quarks the expansion is such that SU(2) isospin breaking effects can also be determined. It is found that the lowest order SU(3) flavour symmetry breaking expansion (or Gell-Mann-Okubo expansion) works very well. Simulations are performed for 2+1 flavours of clover fermions at four lattice spacings., Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures

The extraction of hadron matrix elements in lattice QCD using the standard two- and three-point correlator functions demands careful attention to systematic uncertainties. One of the most commonly studied sources of systematic error is contamination from excited states. We apply the variational method to calculate the axial vector current $g_{A}$, the scalar current $g_{S}$ and the quark momentum fraction $\left$ of the nucleon and we compare the results to the more commonly used summation and two-exponential fit methods. The results demonstrate that the variational approach offers a more efficient and robust method for the determination of nucleon matrix elements., Comment: 14 pages, 21 figures

We discuss scale setting in the context of 2+1 dynamical fermion simulations where we approach the physical point in the quark mass plane keeping the average quark mass constant. We have simulations at four beta values, and after determining the paths and lattice spacings, we give an estimation of the phenomenological values of various Wilson flow scales., Comment: 7 pages; talk presented at Lattice 2015, the 33rd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory 4 -18 July 2015 at Kobe International Conference Center, Kobe, Japan; PoS(LATTICE2015)264

The Feynman-Hellmann (FH) relation offers an alternative way of accessing hadronic matrix elements through artificial modifications to the QCD Lagrangian. In particular, a FH-motivated method provides a new approach to calculations of disconnected contributions to matrix elements and high-momentum nucleon and pion form factors. Here we present results for the total nucleon axial charge, including a statistically significant non-negative total disconnected quark contribution of around $-5\%$ at an unphysically heavy pion mass. Extending the FH relation to finite-momentum transfers, we also present calculations of the pion and nucleon electromagnetic form factors up to momentum transfers of around 7-8 GeV$^2$. Results for the nucleon are not able to confirm the existence of a sign change for the ratio $\frac{G_E}{G_M}$, but suggest that future calculations at lighter pion masses will provide fascinating insight into this behaviour at large momentum transfers.

The extraction of hadron form factors in lattice QCD using the standard two- and three-point correlator functions has its limitations. One of the most commonly studied sources of systematic error is excited state contamination, which occurs when correlators are contaminated with results from higher energy excitations. We apply the variational method to calculate the axial vector current gA and compare the results to the more commonly used summation and two-exponential fit methods. The results demonstrate that the variational approach offers a more efficient and robust method for the determination of nucleon matrix elements., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, talk presented at Lattice 2015, PoS (LATTICE2015)

For Wilson and clover fermions traditional formulations of the axial vector current do not respect the continuum Ward identity which relates the divergence of that current to the pseudoscalar density. Here we propose to use a point-split or one-link axial vector current whose divergence exactly satisfies a lattice Ward identity, involving the pseudoscalar density and a number of irrelevant operators. We check in one-loop lattice perturbation theory with SLiNC fermion and gauge plaquette action that this is indeed the case including order $O(a)$ effects. Including these operators the axial Ward identity remains renormalisation invariant. First preliminary results of a nonperturbative check of the Ward identity are also presented., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the 33rd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 14-18 July 2015, Kobe, Japan

We present results on the pseudoscalar meson masses from a fully dynamical simulation of QCD+QED. We concentrate particularly on violations of isospin symmetry. We calculate the $\pi^+$-$\pi^0$ splitting and also look at other isospin violating mass differences. We have presented results for these isospin splittings in arXiv:1508.06401 [hep-lat]. In this paper we give more details of the techniques employed, discussing in particular the question of how much of the symmetry violation is due to QCD, arising from the different masses of the $u$ and $d$ quarks, and how much is due to QED, arising from the different charges of the quarks. This decomposition is not unique, it depends on the renormalisation scheme and scale. We suggest a renormalisation scheme in which Dashen's theorem for neutral mesons holds, so that the electromagnetic self-energies of the neutral mesons are zero, and discuss how the self-energies change when we transform to a scheme such as $\bar{MS}$, in which Dashen's theorem for neutral mesons is violated., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures. Replaced by version accepted for publication. One figure added, some discussions expanded. Conclusions unchanged

We present a calculation of the SU(3)-breaking corrections to the hyperon transition vector form factors to $\mathcal{O}(p^4)$ in heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory with finite-range regularisation. Both octet and decuplet degrees of freedom are included. We formulate a chiral expansion at the kinematic point $Q^2=-(M_{B_1}-M_{B_2})^2$, which can be conveniently accessed in lattice QCD. The two unknown low-energy constants at this point are constrained by lattice QCD simulation results for the $\Sigma^-\rightarrow n$ and $\Xi^0\rightarrow \Sigma^+$ transition form factors. Hence we determine lattice-informed values of $f_1$ at the physical point. This work constitutes progress towards the precise determination of $|V_{us}|$ from hyperon semileptonic decays.

The spin decomposition of the proton is a long-standing topic of much interest in hadronic physics. Lattice QCD has had much success in calculating the connected contributions to the quark spin. However, complete calculations, which necessarily involve gluonic and strange-quark contributions, still present some challenges. These "disconnected" contributions typically involve small signals hidden against large statistical backgrounds and rely on computationally intensive stochastic techniques. In this work we demonstrate how a Feynman-Hellmann approach may be used to calculate such quantities, by measuring shifts in the proton energy arising from artificial modifications to the QCD action. We find a statistically significant non-zero result for the disconnected quark spin contribution to the proton of about -5% at a pion mass of 470 MeV.

Lattice QCD simulations are now reaching a precision where isospin breaking effects become important. Previously, we have developed a program to systematically investigate the pattern of flavor symmetry beaking within QCD and successfully applied it to meson and baryon masses involving up, down and strange quarks. In this Letter we extend the calculations to QCD + QED and present our first results on isospin splittings in the pseudoscalar meson and baryon octets. In particular, we obtain the nucleon mass difference of $M_n-M_p=1.35(18)(8)\,\mbox{MeV}$ and the electromagnetic contribution to the pion splitting $M_{\pi^+}-M_{\pi^0}=4.60(20)\,\mbox{MeV}$. Further we report first determination of the separation between strong and electromagnetic contributions in the $\bar{MS}$ scheme., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, text and figures added, Journal version

We give a determination of the phenomenological value of the Wilson (or gradient) flow scales t0 and w0 for 2+1 flavours of dynamical quarks. The simulations are performed keeping the average quark mass constant, which allows the approach to the physical point to be made in a controlled manner. O(a) improved clover fermions are used and together with four lattice spacings this allows the continuum extrapolation to be taken., Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures

In this Reply, we respond to the above Comment. Our computation [Phys. Rev. D 91 (2015) 074512] only took into account pure QCD effects, arising from quark mass differences, so it is not surprising that there are discrepancies in isospin splittings and in the Sigma - Lambda mixing angle. We expect that these discrepancies will be smaller in a full calculation incorporating QED effects., Comment: 5 pages

Experimental tests of QCD through its predictions for the strange-quark content of the proton have been drastically restricted by our lack of knowledge of the violation of charge symmetry (CSV). We find unexpectedly tiny CSV in the proton's electromagnetic form factors by performing the first extraction of these quantities based on an analysis of lattice QCD data. The resulting values are an order of magnitude smaller than current bounds on proton strangeness from parity violating electron-proton scattering experiments. This result paves the way for a new generation of experimental measurements of the proton's strange form factors to challenge the predictions of QCD.

We compute the electric dipole moment d_n of the neutron from a fully dynamical simulation of lattice QCD with 2+1 flavors of clover fermions and nonvanishing theta term. The latter is rotated into the pseudoscalar density in the fermionic action using the axial anomaly. To make the action real, the vacuum angle theta is taken to be purely imaginary. The physical value of d_n is obtained by analytic continuation. We find d_n = -3.8(2)(9) x 10^{-16} [theta e cm], which, when combined with the experimental limit on d_n, leads to the upper bound theta < 7.6 x 10^{-11}., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, matches PRL published version