TF05: Lattice gauge theory

Co-Conveners: Zohreh Davoudi (UMD), Taku Izubuchi (BNL), Ethan Neil (CU Boulder)

Lattice gauge theory has long served as a reliable non-perturbative method to study the Standard Model in its strong regime, as well as models of new physics with strong dynamics from first principles. The formulation of quantum field theory on a discrete spacetime lattice was key to early understanding of renormalization, but modern applications most commonly involve the use of high-performance computing to calculate numerical results from first principles. Enjoying rapid developments in both theoretical methods and computing power, such studies, now available for a wealth of physical quantities of interest, provide essential inputs to experiments at the intensity, energy, and cosmic frontiers of research in high-energy physics. In particular, given the reliance of the experimental program on hadrons and nuclei as the medium to discover new physics, and with the introduction of new computing paradigms such as Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing, research in Lattice Gauge Theory in the U.S. will be more essential and more exciting than ever in the upcoming years. A number of research directions we envision the community of lattice gauge theorists to pursue vigorously over the next decade are enumerated in the following.

Subtopics to be explored:

• Quark and lepton flavor physics for searches of new physics in the intensity frontier
• Nucleon and nucleus response to external probes for long-baseline neutrino experiments and direct dark-matter detection
• Constraining Standard Model contributions in searches for the violation of fundamental symmetries such as in proton decay, in neutrinoless double-beta decay, and in electric dipole moment
• Physics of hadron and nucleus structure for intensity and energy frontiers such as studies of proton’s structure functions
• Hot and dense state of matter for physics of early universe, astrophysics, and heavy ion collisions
• Exploration of strongly-coupled field theories not realized in the Standard Model, to probe fundamental quantum field theory questions, as well as for application to models of new physics such as composite Higgs or composite dark matter
• Development of new theoretical simulation frameworks, particularly for finite-density systems and real-time dynamics, by employing technologies such as machine learning and advances in classical- and quantum-computing algorithms.

Here is the list of submitted LOIs to this topic. First index before “/” corresponds to the primary frontier used for the submission.