Volume 334 - The 36th Annual International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (LATTICE2018) - Nonzero Temperature and Density
Simulation of Scalar Field Theories with Complex Actions
M. Ogilvie,* L. Medina
*corresponding author
Full text: pdf
Published on: 2019 May 29
Abstract
Many scalar field theory models with complex actions are invariant under the antilinear ($PT$) symmetry operation $L^{\ast}(-\chi)=L(\chi)$. Models in this class include the $i\phi^{3}$ model, the Bose gas at finite density and Polyakov loop spin models at finite density. This symmetry may be used to obtain a dual representation where weights in the functional integral are real but not necessarily positive. For a subclass of models satisfying a dual positive weight condition, the partition function is manifestly positive. The sign problem is eliminated; such models are easily simulated by a simple local algorithm in any number of dimensions. Simulations of models in this subclass show a rich set of behaviors. Propagators may exhibit damped oscillations, indicating a clear violation of spectral positivity. Pattern formation may also occur, with both stripe and bubble morphologies possible. The existence of a positive representation is constrained by Lee-Yang zeros: a positive representation cannot exist everywhere in the neighborhood of such a zero. Simulation results raise the possibility that pattern-forming behavior may occur in finite density QCD in the vicinity of the critical line.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.334.0157
Open Access