Three-gluon running coupling from lattice QCD at N = 2 + 1 + 1: a consistency check of the OPE approach.

We present a lattice calculation of the renormalized running coupling constant in symmetric (MOM) and asymmetric $ \left( {\widetilde{\mathrm{MOM}}} \right) $ momentum substraction schemes including u, d, s and c quarks in the sea. An Operator Product Expansion dominated by the dimension-two 〈 A〉 condensate is used to fit the running of the coupling. We argue that the agreement in the predicted 〈 A〉 condensate for both schemes is a strong support for the validity of the OPE approach and the effect of this non-gauge invariant condensate over the running of the strong coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]