Up, Down, Strange and Charm Quark Masses in Twisted Mass LQCD
This paper presents a comprehensive lattice QCD determination of the masses of up, down, strange, and charm quarks using gauge configurations from the European Twisted Mass Collaboration (ETMC). The setup includes Nf​=2+1+1 dynamical quarks, facilitating an examination that considers light, strange, and charm quarks with masses near their physical values. The calculations leverage three lattice spacings and encompass pion masses ranging from 210 to 450 MeV, allowing precise continuum and chiral extrapolations. A mixed action approach is utilized for the strange and charm sectors, enhancing the accuracy of quark mass estimates.
The renormalization of quark masses follows the RI′-MOM method, applied non-perturbatively to achieve the masses in the MS scheme: mud​(2 )=3.70(17) MeV, ms​(2 )=99.6(4.3) MeV, and mc​(mc​)=1.348(46) GeV. The paper further expands on quark mass ratios, calculating ms​/mud​=26.66(32) and mc​/ms​=11.62(16). The mass splitting between neutral and charged kaons is analyzed, leading to mu​/md​=0.470(56), and thus, mu​=2.36(24) MeV and md​=5.03(26) MeV.
Key Analysis Details
- Lattice Parameters: Three β values (1.90, 1.95, 2.10) are used, with different lattice volumes for β = 1.90 and 1.95, enabling controlled continuum extrapolations.
- Chiral Extrapolation: Several fit procedures are applied, ranging from ChPT to polynomial expansions, to account for light quark mass dependencies effectively.
- Finite Size Effects (FSE): Predictions for FSE are integrated using the resummed asymptotic formula for pion sectors and additional established formulae for kaon sectors.
- Quark Mass Renormalization: Utilization of different methods ensures comprehensive determination of renormalization constants, helping validate the consistency of the physical quark mass determinations.
Results and Implications
The determination of these quark masses and ratios aids in testing the Standard Model's validity and serves as a benchmark for identifying potential new physics. This comprehensive lattice QCD approach is essential for pinning down the uncertainties in quark masses and exploring their effects on phenomenology. Furthermore, advancements in computational techniques and the refined lattice spacing used here could guide future designs of lattice QCD studies and inform theoretical models with enhanced precision.
Conclusion and Future Prospects
Overall, this paper provides a meticulous analysis of quark masses relevant for advancing QCD studies. While the present work achieves a significant level of precision, ongoing developments in computational power and algorithms may further enhance the precision measurement of non-perturbative elements in QCD. Future directions involve refining lattice spacings and sea quark configurations to achieve even greater accuracy and possibly explore other quark flavors or transition into more complex hadronic structures. Such studies will be pivotal in advancing theoretical and practical insights into the behavior of fundamental particles within the strong force regime.