Lattice QCD

In physics, lattice quantum chromodynamics (lattice QCD) is a theory of quarks and gluons formulated on a space-time lattice. That is, it is a lattice model of quantum chromodynamics, a special case of a lattice gauge theory or lattice field theory.

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Analytic or perturbative solutions in QCD are hard or impossible due to the highly nonlinear nature of the strong force. The formulation of QCD on a discrete rather than continuous space-time naturally introduces a momentum cut off at the order 1/a, which regularizes the theory. As a result lattice QCD is mathematically well-defined. Most importantly, lattice QCD provides the framework for investigation of non-perturbative phenomena such as confinement and quark-gluon plasma formation, which are intractable by means of analytic field theories.

Lattice QCD has already made contact with experiments at various fields with good results ^[1][2]

References

1. ^ MILC research program, Recent Results, taken from MILC Collaboration homepage
2. ^ C. Alexandrou, Ph. de Forcrand, B. Lucini Evidence for diquarks in lattice QCD, Phys.Rev.Lett.97:222002,2006

See also

• Lattice gauge theory
• Quark-gluon plasma
• QCD matter