Applications of Jarzynski's relation in lattice gauge theories

Abstract

Jarzynski's equality is a well-known result in statistical mechanics, relating free-energy differences between equilibrium ensembles with fluctuations in the work performed during non-equilibrium transformations from one ensemble to the other. In this work, an extension of this relation to lattice gauge theory will be presented, along with numerical results for the ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ gauge model in three dimensions and for the equation of state in $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. Then, further applications will be discussed, in particular for the Schrödinger functional and for the study of QCD in strong magnetic fields.

Comments: 7 pages, 2 figures, presented at the 34th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2016), 24-30 July 2016, Southampton, UK