We explore vacua of the U (N) gauge model with N = 2 supersymmetry recently constructed in hep-th/0409060. In addition to the vacuum previously found with unbroken U (N) gauge symmetry in which N = 2 supersymmetry is partially broken to N = 1, we find cases in which the gauge symmetry is broken to a product gauge group n i=1 U (N i). The N = 1 vacua are selected by the requirement of a positive...

We investigate critical properties of the phase transition in the four-dimensional compact U(1) lattice gauge theory supplemented by a monopole term for values of the monopole coupling λ such that the transition is of second order. It has been previously shown that at λ = 0.9 the critical exponent is already characteristic of a second-order transition and that it is different from the one of th...

The calculation of QCD corrections to the width difference ∆Γ in the Bs-meson system is presented. The next-to-leading order corrections reduce the dependence on the renormalization scale significantly and allow for a meaningful use of hadronic matrix elements from lattice gauge theory. At present the uncertainty of the lattice calculations limits the prediction of ∆Γ. The presented work has be...

We discuss the question of what type and scale of supersymmetry breaking might be statistically favored among vacua of string/M theory, building on comments in Denef and Douglas, hep-th/0404116.

We report about a recently started project with the aim to compute hybrid static potentials using lattice gauge theory. First preliminary results for pure SU(2) Yang-Mills theory are presented.

The ηL(1410) component of the η(1440) pseudoscalar has strong affinity for glue. But its mass is incompatible with lattice simulations that predict a much higher value for the 0 glueball. Consequently it has been suggested that ηL(1410) signals physics beyond the Standard Model. Here we argue that if glueballs are closed gluonic fluxtubes then ηL(1410) is a prime candidate for the 0 −+ glueball...

The deconfinement transition in SU(4) lattice gauge theory is investigated on N s × Nt lattices for Ns = 8–16 and Nt = 4–8 using a modified Wilson action which is expected to be free of any bulk transitions. The susceptibility χ |L| , where L is the order parameter for deconfinement, is found to increase linearly with spatial volume for Nt = 4, 5, and 6, indicating a first order deconfinement p...

We summarize the theory and phenomenology of the Color Glass Condensate reviewed previously by E. Iancu and the author in hep-ph/0303204. In addition, we discuss some of the subsequent developments in the past year both in theory and in phenomenological applications.

According to the conventional notion, if a system has strict gauge symmetry, the mass of gauge field in the lagrangian must be zero [1 ]. With the development of the gauge theory, this notion has already been changed. In the gauge theory developed by Wu [2 ], under the precondition that the system has strict gauge symmetry, the theory contains massive gauge bosons. In fact, this result holds no...