Chiral Ward identities, automatic O(a) improvement and the gradient flow

Abstract

Non-singlet chiral Ward identities for fermionic operators at positive flow-time are derived using standard techniques based on local chiral variations of the action and of local operators. The gradient flow formalism is applied to twisted mass fermions and it is shown that automatic O(a) improvement for Wilson twisted mass fermions at maximal twist is a property valid also at positive flow-time. A definition of the chiral condensate that is multiplicatively renormalizable and automatically O(a) improved is then derived.

Comments: 25 pages; v2: few typos corrected, one reference added, it matches the published version