The QCD sign problem as a total derivative

Abstract

We consider the distribution of the complex phase of the fermion determinant in QCD at nonzero chemical potential and examine the physical conditions under which the distribution takes a Gaussian form. We then calculate the baryon number as a function of the complex phase of the fermion determinant and show 1) that the exponential cancellations produced by the sign problem take the form of total derivatives 2) that the full baryon number is orthogonal to this noise. These insights allow us to define a self-consistency requirement for measurements of the baryon number in lattice simulations.

5 pages, reference added, version to appear in PRD rapid communications

References in corpus (4)

• On the existence of the critical point in finite density lattice QCD
• The Approach to the Thermodynamic Limit in Lattice QCD at μ\neq0
• Chiral Condensate at Nonzero Chemical Potential in the Microscopic Limit of QCD
• Phase structure of hot dense QCD by a histogram method

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Complex Langevin Dynamics for chiral Random Matrix Theory
• The chiral phase transition with a chiral chemical potential in the framework of Dyson-Schwinger equations
• Simulating QCD at nonzero baryon density to all orders in the hopping parameter expansion
• Histograms in heavy-quark QCD at finite temperature and density
• An Algorithm for Quantum Computation of Particle Decays
• Progress in complex Langevin simulations of full QCD at nonzero density
• The density in the density of states method
• Dirac spectrum of one-flavor QCD at θ=0 and continuity of the chiral condensate
• Tan's contact and the phase distribution of repulsive Fermi gases: Insights from QCD noise analyses
• Thermodynamics of one-dimensional SU(4) and SU(6) fermions with attractive interactions
• Hopping parameter expansion to all orders using the complex Langevin equation
• Anatomy of a strong residual sign problem on the thimbles
• Investigating corrections to a Gaussian distribution of the complex phase