Ferenc Pittler

Poisson-random matrix transition in the QCD Dirac spectrum

At zero temperature the lowest part of the spectrum of the QCD Dirac operator is known to consist of delocalized modes that are described by random matrix statistics. In the present paper we show that the nature of these eigenmodes changes drastically when the system is driven through the finite temperature cross-over. The lowest Dirac modes that are delocalized at low temperature become localized on the scale of the inverse temperature. At the same time the spectral statistics changes from random matrix to Poisson statistics. We demonstrate this with lattice QCD simulations using 2+1 flavors of light dynamical quarks with physical masses. Drawing an analogy with Anderson transitions we also examine the mobility edge separating localized and delocalized modes in the spectrum. We show that it scales in the continuum limit and increases sharply with the temperature.

Anderson localization in quark-gluon plasma

At low temperature the low end of the QCD Dirac spectrum is well described by chiral random matrix theory. In contrast, at high temperature there is no similar statistical description of the spectrum. We show that at high temperature the lowest part of the spectrum consists of a band of statistically uncorrelated eigenvalues obeying essentially Poisson statistics and the corresponding eigenvectors are extremely localized. Going up in the spectrum the spectral density rapidly increases and the eigenvectors become more and more delocalized. At the same time the spectral statistics gradually crosses over to the bulk statistics expected from the corresponding random matrix ensemble. This phenomenon is reminiscent of Anderson localization in disordered conductors. Our findings are based on staggered Dirac spectra in quenched lattice simulations with the SU(2) gauge group.

Landau levels in QCD

We present first evidence for the Landau level structure of Dirac eigenmodes in full QCD for nonzero background magnetic fields, based on first principles lattice simulations using staggered quarks. Our approach involves the identification of the lowest Landau level modes in two dimensions, where topological arguments ensure a clear separation of these modes from energetically higher states, and an expansion of the full four-dimensional modes in the basis of these two-dimensional states. We evaluate various fermionic observables including the quark condensate and the spin polarization in this basis to find how much the lowest Landau level contributes to them. The results allow for a deeper insight into the dynamics of quarks and gluons in background magnetic fields and may be directly compared to low-energy models of QCD employing the lowest Landau level approximation.

Understanding localisation in QCD through an Ising-Anderson model

Above the QCD chiral crossover temperature, the low-lying eigenmodes of the Dirac operator are localised, while moving up in the spectrum states become extended. This localisation/delocalisation transition has been shown to be a genuine second-order phase transition, in the same universality class as that of the 3D Anderson model. The existence of localised modes and the effective dimensional reduction can be tentatively explained as a consequence of local fluctuations of the Polyakov loop, that provide 3D on-site disorder, in analogy to the on-site disorder of the Anderson model. To test the viability of this explanation we study a 3D effective, Anderson-like model, with on-site disorder provided by the spins of a spin model, which mimics the Polyakov loop dynamics. Our preliminary results show that localised modes are present in the ordered phase, thus supporting the proposed mechanism for localisation in QCD.

Chiral transition, eigenmode localisation and Anderson-like models

We discuss chiral symmetry restoration and eigenmode localisation in finite-temperature QCD by looking at the lattice Dirac operator as a random Hamiltonian. We argue that the features of QCD relevant to both phenomena are the presence of order in the Polyakov line configuration, and the correlations that this induces between spatial links across time slices. This ties the fate of chiral symmetry and of localisation of the lowest Dirac eigenmodes to the confining properties of the theory. We then show numerical results obtained in a QCD-inspired Anderson-like toy model, derived by radically simplifying the QCD dynamics while keeping the important features mentioned above. The toy model reproduces all the important qualitative aspects of chiral symmetry breaking and localisation in QCD, thus supporting the central role played by the confinement/deconfinement transition in triggering both phenomena.

Landau Levels in Lattice QCD

The spectrum of the two-dimensional continuum Dirac operator in the presence of a uniform background magnetic field consists of Landau levels, which are degenerate and separated by gaps. On the lattice the Landau levels are spread out by discretization artefacts, but a remnant of their structure is clearly visible (Hofstadter butterfly). If one switches on a non-Abelian interaction, the butterfly structure will be smeared out, but the lowest Landau level (LLL) will still be separated by a gap from the rest of the spectrum. In this talk we discuss how one can define the LLL in QCD and check how well certain physical quantities are approximated by taking into account only the LLL.

Localization and chiral properties near the ordering transition of an Anderson-like toy model for QCD

The Dirac operator in finite temperature QCD is equivalent to the Hamiltonian of an unconventional Anderson model, with on-site noise provided by the fluctuations of the Polyakov lines. The main features of its spectrum and eigenvectors, concerning the density of low modes and their localization properties, are qualitatively reproduced by a toy-model random Hamiltonian, based on an Ising-type spin model mimicking the dynamics of the Polyakov lines. Here we study the low modes of this toy model in the vicinity of the ordering transition of the spin model, and show that at the critical point the spectral density at the origin has a singularity, and the localization properties of the lowest modes change. This provides further evidence of the close relation between deconfinement, chiral transition and localization of the low modes.

Dirac eigenmodes at the QCD Anderson transition

Recently we found an Anderson-type localization-delocalization transition in the QCD Dirac spectrum at high temperature. Using spectral statistics we obtained a critical exponent compatible with that of the corresponding Anderson model. Here we study the spatial structure of the eigenmodes both in the localized and the transition region. Based on previous studies in the Anderson model, at the critical point, the eigenmodes are expected to have a scale invariant multifractal structure. We verify the scale invariance of Dirac eigenmodes at the critical point.

Chiral transition as Anderson transition

At low temperature the low-lying QCD Dirac spectrum obeys random matrix statistics. Recently we found that above

Critical behaviour in the QCD Anderson transition

T_{c}