Gauge link smearing is widely used in lattice QCD computations. The idea is to remove the local (UV) fluctuations of the gauge field configurations while keeping the longer-range (IR) properties intact. Important applications are in the definitions of interpolating hadron operators as well as in updating the gauge field configurations with dynamical quarks in the so-called Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm. Here we study the effectiveness of various smearing methods and try to quantify these with tools known from Monte Carlo Renormalization Group (MCRG).
Categories: hep-lat