Hep-Lat, short for High Energy Physics – Lattice, explores the fundamental forces of nature by simulating particle interactions on a digital grid. Instead of relying solely on abstract equations, researchers in this field use powerful computers to model how quarks and gluons bind together, offering deep insights into the structure of matter that are often impossible to derive analytically.

Gist.Science ensures these complex discoveries from arXiv remain accessible to everyone. We process every new preprint in this category as it is posted, providing both plain-language explanations for the curious and detailed technical summaries for experts. This dual approach bridges the gap between cutting-edge simulation work and broader scientific understanding.

Below are the latest papers in High Energy Physics – Lattice, curated directly from arXiv and ready for you to explore.

⚛️ lattice

QCD-like theories at next-to-next-to-leading order with NF=2N_F=2 non-degenerate fermions

This paper extends Chiral Perturbation Theory for QCD-like theories with two non-degenerate fermion flavors to next-to-next-to-leading order, deriving reduced Lagrangians and calculating corrections to key observables to fit lattice data for the Sp(4)Sp(4) gauge theory, thereby demonstrating the critical role of higher-order terms in understanding strongly interacting pionic dark matter.

Johan Bijnens, Daniil Krichevskiy2026-06-16
⚛️ lattice

Electric charge fluctuations from lattice QCD in the continuum limit

Using a 4HEX action to achieve the continuum limit, this study presents the first lattice QCD calculation of fourth-order electric charge fluctuations, revealing a persistent tension with the hadron resonance gas model that is only partially mitigated by including light meson interactions and suggesting a future LHC measurement of the χ4Q/χ2Q\chi_4^Q/\chi_2^Q ratio to resolve the discrepancy.

Szabolcs Borsányi, Zoltán Fodor, Jana N. Guenther, Paolo Parotto, Attila Pásztor, Claudia Ratti, Volodymyr Vovchenko, Ch (…)2026-06-15
⚛️ lattice

Resonant scattering in two-flavored Sp(4) lattice gauge theories

This paper presents the first ab initio lattice measurements of vector resonance properties in two-flavored Sp(4)Sp(4) gauge theory by applying generalized Lüscher's method to PNGB scattering, providing crucial data for composite Higgs models and dark matter searches while updating the theory's meson spectroscopy.

Ed Bennett, Yannick Dengler, Deog Ki Hong, Ho Hsiao, Jong-Wan Lee, C. -J. David Lin, Biagio Lucini, Axel Maas, Maurizio (…)2026-06-15
⚛️ lattice

Zeros of the partition function for 12 flavor QCD

This paper investigates 12-flavor SU(3)SU(3) lattice QCD with staggered fermions using the Ferrenberg-Swendsen method to analyze partition function zeros, providing strong evidence for a first-order phase transition at a quark mass of 0.02 and suggesting a critical mass of approximately 0.05 where the transition becomes second-order, potentially belonging to the 4D Ising universality class.

Anas Saleh, Michael Hite, Diego Floor, Yannick Meurice2026-06-15
⚛️ lattice

Analytic structure of the QCD phase diagram in the complex-temperature plane

This paper investigates the analytic structure of the QCD phase diagram by treating temperature as a complex variable, combining universal critical scaling, effective models, and lattice-QCD data to locate the nearest Yang-Lee edge singularities and establish a consistency test for critical-point searches via the relationship between complex-temperature and complex-chemical-potential trajectories.

Gokce Basar, Vladimir V. Skokov2026-06-12
⚛️ lattice

Analytic Bijections for Smooth and Interpretable Normalizing Flows

This paper introduces three families of globally smooth, analytically invertible scalar bijections and a novel radial flow architecture that together overcome the expressivity and stability trade-offs of existing normalizing flows, achieving superior performance with significantly fewer parameters on both standard benchmarks and complex physics problems like ϕ4\phi^4 lattice field theory.

Mathis Gerdes, Miranda C. N. Cheng2026-06-11
⚛️ lattice

Phase diagram of the single-flavor Gross--Neveu--Wilson model from the Grassmann corner transfer matrix renormalization group

This study utilizes the Grassmann corner transfer matrix renormalization group to map the phase diagram of the single-flavor Gross–Neveu–Wilson model, revealing that the Aoki phase is separated by c=1/2c=1/2 critical lines and does not persist in the strong-coupling regime, while topological and trivial phases are distinguished by c=1c=1 critical lines.

Jian-Gang Kong, Shinichiro Akiyama, Tao Shi, Z. Y. Xie2026-06-11