Search

We present results for single axial-vector and scalar meson pole contributions to the hadronic light-by-light scattering (HLbL) part of the muon's anomalous magnetic moment. In the dispersive approach to these quantities (in narrow width approximation) the central inputs are the corresponding space-like electromagnetic transition form factors. We determine these directly using a functional approach to QCD by Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations in the very same setup we used previously to determine pseudo-scalar meson exchange ($\pi$, $\eta$ and $\eta'$) as well as meson ($\pi$ and $K$) box contributions. Particular care is taken to preserve gauge invariance and to comply with short distance constraints in both the form factors and the HLbL tensor. Our result for the contributions from a tower of axial-vector states including short distance constraints is $a_\mu^{\text{HLbL}}[\text{AV-tower+SDC}] = 27.5 \,(3.2) \times 10^{-11}$. For the combined contributions from $f_0(980), a_0(980), f_0(1370)$ and $a_0(1450)$ we find $a_\mu^{\text{HLbL}}[\text{scalar}] = -1.6 \,(5) \times 10^{-11}$., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures

In this letter, we discuss a novel method to search for inhomogeneous chiral symmetry breaking in theories with fermions. The prime application we have in mind is QCD, but the method is also applicable for other theories including solid state applications. It is based on an extension of the chiral susceptibility to inhomogeneous phases and it works as a stability analysis. Our method allows us to determine when homogeneous solutions have the tendency to create spatially modulated condensates. As proof of principle, we apply this technique to a rainbow-ladder QCD model and confirm the conjectured shape of the instability region published in Ref. [1].

We present quantitative results for masses and the internal structure of four-quark states with two heavy quarks, i.e. $QQ'\bar{q}\bar{q}'$ with $Q,Q'\in \{c,b\}$ and $q,q' \in \{u,d,s\}$, and $J^{P} \in {1^+}$. The composition of these states in terms of meson-meson and diquark-antidiquark pairs, extracted from a relativistic four-body Faddeev-Yakubowski equation, is dynamically determined from underlying QCD forces. We find states at energy levels in very good agreement with lattice QCD and, where available, with experimental states. Their internal structure, most notably between the $T^+_{cc}$, $T^+_{bc}$ and $T^+_{bb}$, show significant and sizeable variations., Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, 4 appendices

In this work we continue our efforts to study the existence of a phase with an inhomogeneous, i.e., spatially varying, chiral condensate in QCD. To this end we employ a previously established method of stability analysis of the two-particle irreducible effective action in a truncation that corresponds to a rainbow-ladder approximation of the quark-gluon interaction of QCD. If the analysis is restricted to homogeneous phases, the phase diagram features a first-order chiral transition in the lower-temperature regime. Performing the stability analysis along the lower-chemical-potential border of the corresponding spinodal region, we find that below a certain temperature the homogeneous chirally symmetric solution is unstable against inhomogeneous condensation. We argue that this instability may persist to chemical potentials above the homogeneous first-order phase boundary, in which case it signals the existence of an inhomogeneous ground state. Our methodology is also applicable for more sophisticated truncations of the QCD effective action.

We discuss the spectrum and the internal composition of ground and excited four-quark states in the charm and bottom energy region. To this end we extend previous calculations within the framework of the relativistic four-body Faddeev-Yakubovsky equation to include quantum numbers with $J^{P C} = 0^{++} , 0^{-+} , 1^{--} , 1^{+-}$ and $1^{+ +}$ and study their internal composition in terms of heavy-light meson pairs, hadroquarkonia and diquark-antidiquark clusters. We observe similar patterns in the charm and bottom energy region with different compositions of the four-quark states depending on $J^{P C}$ quantum numbers. Most notably, we find that all states with $C \cdot P = +1$ are dominated by heavy-light meson contributions, whereas for axialvector states with $J^{P C} = 1^{+-}$ including the $Z_c (3900)$ we find a much more complicated picture depending on the flavour content. We systematically compare our results for the spectrum with existing experimental results and provide predictions for future analyses., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures

A symmetry-preserving continuum approach to the calculation of baryon properties in relativistic quantum field theory is used to predict all form factors associated with nucleon-to-$\Delta$ axial and pseudoscalar transition currents, thereby unifying them with many additional properties of these and other baryons. The new parameter-free predictions can serve as credible benchmarks for use in analysing existing and anticipated data from worldwide efforts focused on elucidation of $\nu$ properties., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables

The quenched spectrum of glueballs with positive charge parity is calculated from two-body bound state equations. As input, a self-contained solution for the primitively divergent correlation functions from Dyson-Schwinger equations is used. It only has one parameter to be set which is the physical scale. An important feature of this setup is the consistent construction of the bound state kernels along the same lines as the equations from which the input was obtained. Keeping only the one-particle exchanges, already good agreement with lattice results is obtained. For the tensor glueball, we present first results including two-loop contributions, elevating its calculation to the same level of truncation as for the spin zero glueballs for which such calculations have been done previously., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, contribution to proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy and Structure (HADRON 2023), Genoa, Italy

An important goal of ongoing and future experiments is to explore spectra and transition form factors of baryons with non-zero strangeness. Of particular interest is the transition form factor$\gamma^{(*)} \Sigma^0 \rightarrow \Lambda$ in the time-like momentum region that can be extracted from Dalitz decays. On the road towards a theoretical description of these form factors we extend a covariant dynamical quark-diquark model for the baryon Faddeev equation to the strange-quark sector. Based on an excellent description of the mass spectrum of selected baryon octet and decuplet states and reasonable results for the nucleon form factors we determine the elastic electromagnetic form factors of $\Lambda$ and $\Sigma^+, \Sigma^0, \Sigma^-$ hyperons in the space-like region as well as the ones for the octet transition $\gamma^{(*)} \Sigma^0 \rightarrow \Lambda$. We discuss qualitative and quantitative features of the diquark-quark picture and compare systematically with previous results from a three-body Faddeev approach and lattice data where available., Comment: version accepted by EPJA

We investigate the order of the QCD chiral transition in the limit of vanishing bare up/down quark masses and variations of the bare strange-quark mass $0 \le m_{\mathrm{s}} \le \infty$. In this limit and due to universality long range correlations with the quantum numbers of pseudoscalar and scalar mesons may dominate the physics. In order to study the interplay between the microscopic quark and gluon degrees of freedom and the long range correlations we extend a combination of lattice Yang--Mills theory and a (truncated) version of Dyson--Schwinger equations by also taking back-reactions of mesonic degrees of freedom into account. Both this system and the meson backcoupling approach have been studied extensively in the past but this is the first work in a full $(2 + 1)$-flavor setup. Starting from the physical point, we determine the chiral susceptibilities for decreasing up/down quark masses and find good agreement with both lattice and functional renormalization group results. We then proceed to determine the order of the chiral transition along the left-hand side of the Columbia plot, for chemical potentials in the range $-(30 \,\textrm{MeV})^2 \le \mu_q^2 \le (30 \,\textrm{MeV})^2$. We find a second-order phase transition throughout and no trace of a first-order region in the $N_{f} = 3$ corner of the Columbia plot. This result remains unchanged when an additional Goldstone boson due to a restored axial $\mathrm{U_A}(1)$ is taken into account., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables; v3: version published in PRD; data for plots in ancillary files

The possible occurrence of crystalline or inhomogeneous phases in the QCD phase diagram at large chemical potential has been under investigation for over thirty years. Such phases are present in models of QCD such as the Gross-Neveu model in 1+1 dimensions, Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) and quark meson models. Yet, no unambiguous confirmation exists from actual QCD. In this work, we propose a new approach for a stability analysis that is based on the two-particle irreducible effective action and compatible with full QCD calculations within the framework of functional methods. As a first test, we reproduce a known NJL model result within this framework. We then discuss the additional difficulties which arise in QCD due to the non-locality of the quark self-energy and suggest a method to overcome them. As a proof of principle and as an illustration of the analysis, we consider the Wigner-Weyl solution of the quark Dyson-Schwinger equation (DSE) within a simple truncation of QCD in the chiral limit and analyse its stability against homogeneous chiral-symmetry breaking fluctuations. For temperatures above and below the tricritical point we find that the boundary of the instability region coincides well with the second-order phase boundary or the left spinodal, respectively, obtained from the direct solutions of the DSEs. Finally, we outline how this method can be generalized to study inhomogeneous fluctuations., Comment: refs added; data files organised

A quark+diquark Faddeev equation treatment of the baryon bound state problem in Poincar\'e-invariant quantum field theory is used to deliver parameter-free predictions for all six $\Delta$-baryon elastic weak form factors. Amongst the results, it is worth highlighting that there are two distinct classes of such $\Delta$-baryon form factors, $(g_1, g_3, G_{\pi\Delta\Delta})$, $(h_1, h_3, H_{\pi\Delta\Delta})$, the functions within each of which are separately linked via partial conservation of axial current (PCAC) and Goldberger-Treiman (GT) relations. Respectively within each class, the listed form factors possess qualitatively the same structural features as the nucleon axial, induced pseudoscalar, and pion-nucleon coupling form factors. For instance, the $\Delta$-baryon $g_1$ axial form factor can reliably be approximated by a dipole function, characterised by an axial charge $g_A^{\Delta^+}=0.71(9)$ and mass-scale $m_A^\Delta=0.95(2)m_\Delta$. Moreover, the two distinct $\Delta$-baryon PCAC form factor relations are satisfied to a high degree of accuracy on a large range of $Q^2$; the associated GT relations present good approximations only on $Q^2/m_\Delta^2 \simeq 0$; and pion pole dominance approximations are reliable within both classes. There are two $\pi\Delta\Delta$ couplings: $g_{\pi\Delta\Delta} = 10.46(1.88)$; $h_{\pi\Delta\Delta}= 35.73(3.75)$; and the associated form factors are soft. Such couplings commonly arise in phenomenology, which may therefore benefit from our analyses. A flavour decomposition of the axial charges reveals that quarks carry $71$\% of the $\Delta$-baryon spin. The analogous result for the proton is $\approx 65$\%., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables

We investigate the quality of the extrapolation procedure employed in Ref. [1] to extract the crossover line at real chemical potential from lattice data at imaginary potential. To this end we employ a functional approach that does not suffer from the sign problem. We utilize a well-studied combination of lattice Yang--Mills theory with a truncated set of Dyson--Schwinger equations in Landau gauge for $2 + 1$ quark flavors. This system predicts a critical endpoint at moderate temperatures and rather large (real) chemical potential with a curvature of the pseudo-critical transition line comparable to recent lattice extrapolations. We determine the light quark condensate and chiral susceptibility at imaginary chemical potentials and perform an analytic continuation along the lines described in [1]. We find that the analytically continued crossover line agrees very well (within one percent) with the explicitly calculated one for chemical potentials up to about 80 % of the one of the critical end point. The method breaks down in the region where the chiral susceptibility as a function of the condensate cannot any longer be well described by a polynomial., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures; v2: version published in EPJA; data for figures in ancillary files

The discovery of four-quark states attracted a lot of attention from the theoretical as well as the experimental side. To study their properties from QCD we use a functional framework which combines (truncated) Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations in Landau gauge. This approach allows us to extract qualitative results for mass spectra, decay widths and wavefunctions of candidates for bound as well as resonant four-quark states. Furthermore, we can investigate the possible internal structure of such states. We report on recent developments and results using this functional framework and give an overview about the current status as well as future developments., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; contribution to the proceedings of the FAIR next generation scientists workshop (FAIRNESS), 7th edition, 23-27 May 2022, Paralia, Greece

We summarize recent results on the volume dependence of the location of the critical endpoint in the QCD phase diagram. To this end, we employ a sophisticated combination of Lattice Yang--Mills theory and a (truncated) version of Dyson--Schwinger equations in Landau gauge for $2 + 1$ quark flavours. We study this system at small and intermediate volumes and determine the dependence of the location of the critical endpoint on the boundary conditions and the volume of a three-dimensional cube with edge length $L$. We also discuss recent results on baryon number fluctuations in this setup., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; contribution to the proceedings of the FAIR next generation scientists workshop (FAIRNESS), 7th edition, 23-27 May 2022, Paralia (Pieria, Greece)

In this contribution, we summarize a truncation-independent method to compute the equation of state within nonperturbative functional approaches. After demonstrating its viability, the method is applied to solutions obtained from a set of truncated Dyson-Schwinger equations for the quark and gluon propagators of (2+1)-flavor QCD to obtain thermodynamic quantities across the phase diagram of strong-interaction matter., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures; contribution to the proceedings of the FAIR next generation scientists workshop (FAIRNESS), 7th edition, 23-27 May 2022, Paralia (Pieria), Greece

Glueballs are bound states in the spectrum of quantum chromodynamics which consist only of gluons. They belong to the group of exotic hadrons which are widely studied experimentally and theoretically. We summarize how to calculate glueballs in a functional framework and discuss results for pure Yang-Mills theory. Our setup is totally self-contained with the scale being the only external input. We enumerate a range of tests that provide evidence of the stability of the results. This illustrates the potential of functional equations as a continuum first-principles method complementary to lattice calculations., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, contribution to the proceedings of "XVth Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum", Aug. 1-6, 2022

We present results for the volume dependence of baryon number fluctuations in the vicinity of the (conjectured) critical endpoint of QCD. They are extracted from the nonperturbative quark propagator that is obtained as a solution to a set of truncated Dyson--Schwinger equations of ($2 + 1$)-flavor QCD in Landau gauge, which takes the backcoupling of quarks onto the Yang--Mills sector explicitly into account. This well-studied system predicts a critical endpoint at moderate temperatures and rather large chemical potential. We investigate this system at small and intermediate finite, three-dimensional, cubic volumes and study the resulting impact on baryon number fluctuations and ratios thereof up to fourth order in the region of the critical endpoint. Due to the limitations of our truncation, the results are quantitatively meaningful only outside the critical scaling region of the endpoint. We find that the fluctuations are visibly affected by the finite volume, particularly for antiperiodic boundary conditions, whereas their ratios are practically invariant., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; v2: extended version including explanations about limitations of our approach, version published in PLB

We study the decays of the $J^{PC}=1^{-+}$ hybrid nonet using a Lagrangian invariant under the flavor symmetry, parity reversal, and charge conjugation. We use the available experimental data, the lattice predictions, and the flavor constraints to evaluate the coupling strengths of the $\pi_1(1600)$ to various two-body mesonic states. Using these coupling constants, we estimate the partial widths of the two-body decays of the hybrid pion, kaon and the isoscalars. We find that the hybrid kaon can be nearly as broad as the $\pi_1(1600)$. Quite remarkably, we find also that the light isoscalar must be significantly narrow while the width of the heavy isoscalar can be matched to the recently observed $\eta_1(1855)$., Comment: 8 pages

We study electromagnetic as well as strong isospin breaking effects in the isospin mass splittings of light pseudoscalar and vector mesons. To this end we employ a coupled system of quark Dyson-Schwinger and meson Bethe-Salpeter equations whose interaction kernels contain gluon, pion and photon exchange interactions. In bound states, QCD-induced isospin breaking is manifest on different levels. On the one hand, a different explicit up- and down-quark mass directly affects the propagators of the constituent quarks. On the other hand, it leads to different interaction kernels within the isospin multiplets. In addition, electromagnetic isospin breaking is induced via a photon exchange diagram. Using the kaon iso-doublet and the charged pion masses as input to determine the up, down and strange quark masses we find for the pion, kaon and rho meson mass splittings different patterns each. In particular, our results provide evidence that the effects from two sources of mass splittings, the different quark masses and the different quark charges, do not add up linearly., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

The spectrum of glueballs with quantum numbers $J^\mathsf{PC}=0^{\pm+},2^{\pm+},3^{\pm+},4^{\pm+}$ is calculated in quenched quantum chromodynamics from bound state equations. The input is taken from a parameter-free calculation of two- and three-point functions. Our results agree well with lattice results where available and contain also some additional states. For the scalar glueball, we present first results for the effects of additional diagrams which turn out to be strongly suppressed., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; contribution to the proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy and Structure in memoriam Simon Eidelman, Mexico City, July 26-30, 2021

We study the internal structure of a range of four-quark states with charm quark contributions using a two-body Bethe-Salpeter equation. Thereby, we examine charmonium-like states with hidden charm and quark content $c\bar{c}q\bar{q}$, open-charm states with quark content $cc\bar{q}\bar{q}$ and all-charm states with $cc\bar{c}\bar{c}$. In particular we study the internal competition between meson-meson components and diquark-antidiquark components in the wave functions of these states. Our results indicate that the $\chi_{c1}(3872)$ and the $Z_c(3900)$ are predominantly $D\bar D^*$ states and that the recently discovered open-charm state $T_{cc}^+$ is dominated by an internal $DD^*$ component. In both cases the diquark components are negligible. For the all-charm state $X(6900)$ with as yet unknown quantum numbers we identify candidates in the excitation spectra of $0^+$ and $1^+$ states. Furthermore, our framework serves to provide predictions for further, yet undiscovered open and hidden charm four-quark states., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; v2: minor changes, version accepted for EPJC

We give an overview of results for the quenched glueball spectrum from two-body bound state equations based on the 3PI effective action. The setup, which uses self-consistently calculated two- and three-point functions as input, is completely self-contained and does not have any free parameters except for the coupling. The results for $J^{\mathsf{PC}}=0^{\pm+},2^{\pm+},3^{\pm+},4^{\pm+}$ are in good agreement with recent lattice results where available. For the pseudoscalar glueball, we present first results from a two-loop complete calculation, rendering also the bound state calculation fully self-consistent., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, contribution to the proceedings of "A Virtual Tribute to Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum 2021", Aug. 2-6, 2021; v2: corrected numbers in tab. 1

We calculate the glueball spectrum for spin up to J=4 and positive charge parity in pure Yang-Mills theory. We construct the full bases for J=0,1,2,3,4 and discuss the relation to gauge invariant operators. Using a fully self-contained truncation of Dyson-Schwinger equations as input, we obtain ground states and first and second excited states from extrapolations of the eigenvalue curves. Where available, we find good quantitative agreement with lattice results., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; v2: update to match version published in EPJC

We study the dynamical generation of scalar mesons in the light quark sector ($q\in\{u,d,s\}$) and calculate the masses and widths for the $f_0(500),a_0(980)$ and $f_0(980)$. To this end we study the mixing of conventional $q\bar{q}$ and `exotic' $q\bar{q}q\bar{q}$ states via a coupled set of two-body Bethe-Salpeter equations based on a symmetry-preserving truncation of the underlying Dyson-Schwinger equations. This allows us to determine the dominant components of each state. Furthermore, we extend our previous framework into the complex energy plane such that we can study the analytic structure of the states in question and extract their width. At the physical point of small quark masses, the $\sigma$ meson is predominantly a $\pi\pi$ resonance. Consequently, its mass and width is driven by the effects of chiral symmetry breaking. At larger quark masses, however, the conventional $q\bar{q}$ components take over. Furthermore, we find a strong molecular $K\bar{K}$ component for both, the strange-light $f_0(980)$ and the $a_0(980)$., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

We investigate the impact of finite volume and the corresponding restrictions on long-range correlations on the location of the critical endpoint in the QCD phase diagram. To this end, we employ a sophisticated combination of lattice Yang--Mills theory and a (truncated) version of Dyson--Schwinger equations in Landau gauge for $2 + 1$ quark flavors that has been studied extensively in the past. In the infinite-volume limit, this system predicts a critical endpoint at moderate temperature and large chemical potential. We study this system at small and intermediate volumes and determine the dependence of the location of the critical endpoint on the boundary conditions and the volume of a three-dimensional cube with edge length $L$. We demonstrate that noticeable volume effects of more than five percent only occur for $L \lesssim 5 \, \text{fm}$ and that volumes as large as $L^3 \gtrsim (8 \, \text{fm})^3$ are very close to the infinite-volume limit., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; v2: extended version including the zero mode, minor title change, version published in PRD

We study the effects of pion and sigma meson backcoupling on the chiral order parameters and the QCD phase diagram and determine their effect on the location of the chiral critical endpoint. To this end, we solve a coupled set of truncated Dyson--Schwinger equations for Landau gauge quark and gluon propagators with $N_f=2+1$ dynamical quark flavors and explicitly backcoupled mesons. The corresponding meson bound-state properties and the quark-meson Bethe--Salpeter vertices are obtained from their homogeneous Bethe--Salpeter equation. We find chiral-restoration effects of the pion and/or sigma meson backcoupling and observe a (small) shift of the critical endpoint towards smaller chemical potentials. The curvature of the chiral crossover line decreases. Our results indicate that the location of the critical endpoint in the phase diagram is mainly determined by the microscopic degrees of freedom of QCD (in contrast to its critical properties)., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

In a recent comment [1] Blankleider and Kvinikhidze claim that our work [2] is based on a set of inconsistent Bethe-Salpeter equations for the coupling of four-quark to two-quark states. Here we demonstrate that their argument is insubstantial., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure

We use a continuum quark+diquark approach to the nucleon bound-state problem in relativistic quantum field theory to deliver parameter-free predictions for the nucleon axial and induced pseudoscalar form factors, $G_A$ and $G_P$, and unify them with the pseudoscalar form factor $G_5$ or, equivalently, the pion-nucleon form factor $G_{\pi NN}$. We explain how partial conservation of the axial-vector current and the associated Goldberger-Treiman relation are satisfied once all necessary couplings of the external current to the building blocks of the nucleon are constructed consistently; in particular, we fully resolve the seagull couplings to the diquark-quark vertices associated with the axial-vector and pseudoscalar currents. Among the results we describe, the following are worth highlighting. A dipole form factor defined by an axial charge $g_A=G_A(0)=1.25(3)$ and a mass-scale $M_A = 1.23(3) m_N$, where $m_N$ is the nucleon mass, can accurately describe the pointwise behaviour of $G_A$. Concerning $G_P$, we obtain the pseudoscalar charge $g_p^\ast = 8.80(23)$, and find that the pion pole dominance approach delivers a reliable estimate of the directly computed result. Our computed value of the pion-nucleon coupling constant, $g_{\pi NN}/m_N =14.02(33)/{\rm GeV}$ is consistent with recent precision determinations., Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures, 1 table

We present a method to compute thermodynamic quantities within functional continuum frameworks that is independent of the employed truncation. As a proof of principle, we first apply it to a Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in mean-field approximation. Then, we use the method with solutions obtained from a coupled set of truncated Dyson-Schwinger equations for the quark and gluon propagators of (2+1)-flavor quantum chromodynamics in Landau gauge to obtain the pressure, entropy density, energy density, and interaction measure across the phase diagram of strong-interaction matter. We also discuss the limitation of the proposed method., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; v2: minor changes, version published in PRD

We update our previous results for (pseudo-)scalar mesons at zero temperature and finite quark chemical potential and generalize the investigation to include (axial-)vector mesons. We determine bound-state properties such as meson masses and decay constants up to chemical potentials far in the first-order coexistence region. To extract the bound-states properties, we solve the Bethe-Salpeter equation and utilize Landau-gauge quark and gluon propagators obtained from a coupled set of (truncated) Dyson-Schwinger equations with N$_\textup{f}=2+1$ dynamical quark flavors at finite chemical potential and vanishing temperature. For multiple (pseudo-)scalar and (axial-)vector mesons, we observe constant masses and decay constants for chemical potentials up to the coexistence region of the first-order phase transition thus verifying explicitly the Silver-Blaze property of QCD. Inside the coexistence region the pion becomes more massive and its decay constants decrease, whereas corresponding quantities for the (axial-)vector mesons remain (almost) constant., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, v2: minor changes, version accepted by EPJ

A symmetry-preserving Poincar\'e-covariant quark+diquark Faddeev equation treatment of the nucleon is used to deliver parameter-free predictions for the nucleon's axial and induced pseudoscalar form factors, $G_A$ and $G_P$, respectively. The result for $G_A$ can reliably be represented by a dipole form factor characterised by an axial charge $g_A=G_A(0)=1.25(3)$ and a mass-scale $M_A = 1.23(3) m_N$, where $m_N$ is the nucleon mass; and regarding $G_P$, the induced pseudoscalar charge $g_p^\ast = 8.80(23)$, the ratio $g_p^\ast/g_A = 7.04(22)$, and the pion pole dominance Ansatz is found to provide a reliable estimate of the directly computed result. The ratio of flavour-separated quark axial charges is also calculated: $g_A^d/g_A^u=-0.16(2)$. This value expresses a marked suppression of the size of the $d$-quark component relative to that found in nonrelativistic quark models and owes to the presence of strong diquark correlations in the nucleon Faddeev wave function -- both scalar and axial-vector, with the scalar diquark being dominant. The predicted form for $G_A$ should provide a sound foundation for analyses of the neutrino-nucleus and antineutrino-nucleus cross-sections that are relevant to modern accelerator neutrino experiments., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

In this feature article we summarise and highlight aspects of the treatment of four-quark states with functional methods. Model approaches to those exotic mesons almost inevitably have to assume certain internal structures, e.g. by grouping quarks and antiquarks into (anti-)diquark clusters or heavy-light $q\bar{q}$ pairs. Functional methods using Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations can be formulated without such prejudice and therefore have the potential to put these assumptions to test and discriminate between such models. So far, functional methods have been used to study the light scalar-meson sector and the heavy-light sector with a pair of charmed and a pair of light quarks in different quantum number channels. For all these states, the dominant components in terms of internal two-body clustering have been identified. It turns out that chiral symmetry breaking plays an important role for the dominant clusters in the light meson sector (in particular for the scalar mesons) and that this property is carried over to the heavy-light sector. Diquark-antidiquark components, on the other hand, turn out to be almost negligible for most states with the exception of open-charm heavy-light exotics., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, v2: typos corrected, version accepted by Few Body Syst

We calculate the dressed gluon and ghost propagators of Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory in the complex momentum plane from their Dyson-Schwinger equations. To this end, we develop techniques for a direct calculation such that no mathematically ill-posed inverse problem needs to be solved. We provide a detailed account of the employed ray technique and discuss a range of tools to monitor the stability of the numerical calculation. Within a truncation employing model ansaetze for the three-point vertices and neglecting effects due to four-point functions, we find a singularity in the gluon propagator in the second quadrant of the complex $p^2$-plane. Although the location of this singularity turns out to be strongly dependent on the model for the three-gluon vertex, it occurs always at complex momenta for the range of models considered., Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures; v2: added references, agrees with published version

We study the dynamical generation of resonances in isospin singlet channels with mixing between two- and four-quark states. To this end we generalise a Bethe-Salpeter approach to four-quark states employed previously \cite{Heupel:2012ua} to accommodate for mixing diagrams. The $q\bar{q}q\bar{q}$ and $q\bar{q}$ components of the Bethe-Salpeter wave function (with light quarks $q\in\{u,d\}$) are determined consistently in a symmetry-preserving truncation of the underlying Dyson-Schwinger equations. As a prominent example we deal with the isospin-singlet $0^{++}$ meson with light quark content. We find that the $\pi\pi$ contribution of the four-quark component is mainly responsible for the low (real part of the) mass of the resulting state. We also study the analytic structure in the complex momentum plane and find a branch cut at the two-pion threshold and a singularity in the second Riemann sheet indicating a considerable decay width. Our findings are in excellent qualitative agreement with the general picture for the $\sigma/f_0(500)$ that emerged in the past two decades from dispersive approaches \cite{Pelaez:2015qba}., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, v2: minor changes, version accepted by PRD

We provide results for the spectrum of scalar and pseudoscalar glueballs in pure Yang-Mills theory using a parameter-free fully self-contained truncation of Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations. The only input, the scale, is fixed by comparison with lattice calculations. We obtain ground state masses of $1.9\,\text{GeV}$ and $2.6\,\text{GeV}$ for the scalar and pseudoscalar glueballs, respectively, and $2.6\,\text{GeV}$ and $3.9\,\text{GeV}$ for the corresponding first excited states. This is in very good quantitative agreement with available lattice results. Furthermore, we predict masses for the second excited states at $3.7\,\text{GeV}$ and $4.3\,\text{GeV}$. The quality of the results hinges crucially on the self-consistency of the employed input. The masses are independent of a specific choice for the infrared behavior of the ghost propagator providing further evidence that this only reflects a nonperturbative gauge completion., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figs.; v2: extended version with a meson calculation to illustrate the extrapolation, unified scale setting in comparison, agrees with published version

Models proposed to explain recently discovered heavy-light four-quark states already assume certain internal structures, i.e. the (anti)quark constituents are grouped into diquark/antidiquark clusters, heavy-meson/light-meson clusters (hadrocharmonium) or heavy-light meson molecules. We propose and use an approach to four-quark states based on Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations that has the potential to discriminate between these models. We study the masses of heavy-light $cq\bar{q}\bar{c}$ and $cc\bar{q}\bar{q}$ four-quark states with $q=u,d,s$ and quantum numbers $I(J^{PC})=0(1^{++}),1(1^{+-}),0(0^{++})$ and $1(0^+),0(1^+),1(1^+)$. We identify the dominant components of the ground states with these quantum numbers and suggest candidates for corresponding experimental states. Most notably, we find strong heavy-light meson-meson and negligible diquark-antidiquark components in all $cq\bar{q}\bar{c}$ states, whereas for $cc\bar{q}\bar{q}$ states diquarks are present. A potential caveat in the $I=0$ channels is the necessary but costly inclusion of $c\bar{c}$ components which is relegated to future work., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, v2: minor corrections, version published in PRD rapid communications

We calculate masses and decays of the (lightest) hybrid nonet with exotic quantum numbers $J^{PC}=1^{-+}$ and the nonet of their chiral partners with $J^{PC}=1^{+-}$ in the framework of the extended Linear Sigma Model (eLSM). As an input, we identify $\pi_{1}^{hyb}=\pi_{1}(1600)$ as a low-lying hybrid. We investigated interaction terms which fulfil chiral symmetry. For what concerns $\pi_{1}^{hyb},$ the most important decays are $\pi_{1}^{hyb}\rightarrow b_{1}\pi,$ $\pi_{1}(1600)\rightarrow\rho\pi\eta,$ $\pi_{1}^{hyb}% \rightarrow\rho\pi,$ and $\pi_{1}^{hyb}\rightarrow KK^{\ast}(892).$ The decays $\pi_{1}^{hyb}\rightarrow\eta\pi$ and $\pi_{1}^{hyb}\rightarrow\eta^{\prime }\pi$ are expected to be small but non-zero: they follow from a chirally symmetric interaction term that breaks explicitly the axial anomaly. For all the other members of the two hybrid nonets (for which no experimental candidates exist yet) we report decay ratios that may guide ongoing and future experiments., Comment: 26 pages, 6 tables. To appear in EPJPlus

We summarize our results for light (pseudo-)scalar mesons at finite chemical potential and vanishing temperature. We extract the meson bound state wave functions, masses, and decay constants up to the first-order phase transition from the homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation and confirm the validity of the Silver-Blaze property. For this purpose, we solve a coupled set of truncated Dyson-Schwinger equations for the quark and gluon propagators of QCD in Landau gauge., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; contribution to the proceedings of the FAIR next generation scientists workshop (FAIRNESS), 6th edition, 20-24 May 2019, Arenzano, Italy

We summarize our results on baryon number fluctuations at nonzero temperature and chemical potential. They are obtained from solutions of a coupled set of Dyson-Schwinger equations for the quark and gluon propagators of QCD in Landau gauge with $N_f=2+1$ quark flavors. In comparison with preliminary STAR data, our results are compatible with a critical endpoint at large chemical potential and a freeze-out line that bends below it., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; contribution to the proceedings of the FAIR next generation scientists workshop (FAIRNESS), 6th edition, 20-24 May 2019, Arenzano, Italy

We present results for the charged kaon-box contributions to the hadronic light-by-light (HLBL) correction of the muon's anomalous magnetic moment. To this end we determine the kaon electromagnetic form factor within the functional approach to QCD using Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations and evaluate the kaon-box contribution as defined in the dispersive approach to HLBL. As an update to previous work we also re-evaluate the charged pion-box contribution taking effects due to isospin breaking into account. Our results are $a_\mu^{\pi^\pm-\text{box}} = -15.7 \,(2)(3) \times 10^{-11}$ and $a_\mu^{K^\pm-\text{box}} = -0.48 \,(2)(4) \times 10^{-11}$ thus confirming the large suppression of box contributions beyond the leading pion box., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; v3: improved numerics, updated number for kaon-box, conclusions unchanged. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1903.10844

We investigate the properties of light scalar and pseudoscalar mesons at finite (light) quark chemical potential. To this end we solve a coupled set of (truncated) Dyson-Schwinger equations for the quark and gluon propagators in Landau-gauge QCD and extent earlier results for $N_f=2+1$ dynamical quark flavors to finite chemical potential at zero temperature. We then determine the meson bound state masses, wave functions, and decay constants for chemical potentials below the first-order phase transition from their homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation. We study the changes in the quark dressing functions and Bethe-Salpeter wave functions with chemical potential. In particular, we trace charge-conjugation parity breaking. Furthermore, we confirm the validity of the Silver-Blaze property: all dependencies of colored quantities on chemical potential cancel out in observables and we observe constant masses and decay constants up to and into the coexistence region of the first-order chiral phase transition., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, v2: minor changes, version accepted by EPJ

We present results for fluctuations of the baryon number for QCD at nonzero temperature and chemical potential. These are extracted from solutions to a coupled set of truncated Dyson-Schwinger equations for the quark and gluon propagators of Landau-gauge QCD with $N_f = 2 + 1$ quark flavors, that has been studied previously. We discuss the changes of fluctuations and ratios thereof up to fourth order for several temperatures and baryon chemical potential up to and beyond the critical endpoint. In the context of preliminary STAR data for the skewness and kurtosis ratios, the results are compatible with the scenario of a critical endpoint at large chemical potential and slightly offset from the freeze-out line. We also discuss the caveats involved in this comparison., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures; v3: typos in Eqs. (12) and (23) corrected, version otherwise identical with published one

We generalise the framework of Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations for four-quark states to accommodate the case of unequal quark masses. As a first application, we consider the quantum numbers $I(J^{PC})=0(1^{++})$ of the $X(3872)$ and study the four-quark states with quark contents $cq\bar{q}\bar{c}$ and $cs\bar{s}\bar{c}$. Their Bethe-Salpeter amplitudes are represented by a basis of heavy-light meson-meson, hadro-charmonium and diquark-antidiquark operators, which allows for a dynamical distinction between different internal configurations. In both cases we find the heavy-light meson-meson component to be dominant. For the putative $X(3872)$ we obtain a mass of $3916(74)$ MeV; the corresponding $cs\bar{s}\bar{c}$ state is predicted at $4068(61)$ MeV., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; v2: minor typos corrected

We present results for single pseudoscalar meson pole contributions and pion box contributions to the hadronic light-by-light (LBL) correction of the muon's anomalous magnetic moment. We follow the recently developed dispersive approach to LBL, where these contributions are evaluated with intermediate mesons on-shell. However, the space-like electromagnetic and transition form factors are not determined from analytic continuation of time-like data, but directly calculated within the functional approach to QCD using Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations. This strategy allows for a systematic comparison with a strictly dispersive treatment and also with recent results from lattice QCD. Within error bars, we obtain excellent agreement for the pion electromagnetic and transition form factor and the resulting contributions to LBL. In addition, we present results for the $\eta$ and $\eta'$ pole contributions and discuss the dynamical effects in the $\eta-\eta'$ mixing due to the strange quarks. Our result for the total pseudoscalar pole contributions is $a_\mu^{\text{PS-pole}} = 91.6 \,(1.9) \times 10^{-11}$ and for the pion-box contribution we obtain $a_\mu^{\pi-\text{box}} = -16.3 \,(2)(4) \times 10^{-11}$., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures; v2: minor changes, diagram added, improved value for pion-box; version published in PLB

We review results for the phase diagram of QCD, the properties of quarks and gluons and the resulting properties of strongly interacting matter at finite temperature and chemical potential. The interplay of two different but related transitions in QCD, chiral symmetry restoration and deconfinement, leads to a rich phenomenology when external parameters such as quark masses, volume, temperature and chemical potential are varied. We discuss the progress in this field from a theoretical perspective, focusing on non-perturbative QCD as encoded in the functional approach via Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations. We aim at a pedagogical overview on the physics associated with the structure of this framework and explain connections to other approaches, in particular with the functional renormalization group and lattice QCD. We discuss various aspects associated with the variation of the quark masses, assess recent results for the QCD phase diagram including the location of a putative critical end-point for $N_f=2+1$ and $N_f=2+1+1$, discuss results for quark spectral functions and summarise aspects of QCD thermodynamics and fluctuations., Comment: 80 pages; invited review article, v2: typos corrected, figures updated, comments added; version accepted by PPNP

We perform a semi-perturbative calculation of the quark-gluon vertex inspired from the three-loop expanded 3PI effective action and investigate the relative strengths of the chirally symmetric/broken tensor structures below and above the crossover., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to proceedings of Excited QCD 2018, 11-15 March 2018, Kopaonik, Serbia

The covariant Faddeev approach which describes baryons as relativistic three-quark bound states and is based on the Dyson-Schwinger and Bethe-Salpeter equations of QCD is briefly reviewed. All elements, including especially the baryons' three-body-wave-functions, the quark propagators and the dressed quark-photon vertex, are calculated from a well-established approximation for the quark-gluon interaction. Selected previous results of this approach for the spectrum and elastic electromagnetic form factors of ground-state baryons and resonances are reported. The main focus of this talk is a presentation and discussion of results from a recent investigation of the electromagnetic transition form factors between ground-state octet and decuplet baryons as well as the octet-only $\Sigma^0$ to $\Lambda$ transition., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures; to be published in the EPJ Web of Conferences (proceedings of the conference EXA17)

We study the phenomenology of the ground-state (pseudo-)scalar charmonia $\eta_c$ and $\chi_{c0}$ in the framework of a $U(4)_r \times U(4)_l$ symmetric linear sigma model with (pseudo-)scalar and (axial-) vector mesons. Based on previous results for the spectrum of charmonia and the spectrum and (OZI-dominant) strong decays of open charmed mesons, we extend the study of this model to OZI-suppressed charmonia decays. This includes decays into 'ordinary' mesons but also particularly interesting channels with scalar-isoscalar resonances $f_0(1370),\, f_0(1500),\, f_0(1710)$ that may include sizeable contributions from a scalar glueball. We study the variation of the corresponding decay widths assuming different mixings between glueball and quark-antiquark states. We also compute the decay width of the pseudoscalar $\eta_c$ into a pseudoscalar glueball. In general, our results for decay widths are in reasonable agreement with experimental data where available. Order of magnitude predictions for as yet unmeasured states and channels are potentially interesting for BESIII, Belle II, LHCb as well as the future PANDA experiment at the FAIR facility., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 6 tabes