Pseudoscalar singlet physics with staggered fermions

Abstract

We report on progress in measuring disconnected correlators associated with pseudoscalar flavor-singlet mesons. This will eventually allow us to compute the masses of the eta and eta&#39; mesons. Flavor-singlet physics also presents an interesting test of the staggered fermion formulation, as disconnected correlators are sensitive to whether the same action governs both sea quarks and valence quarks. It can also help test the validity of the ``fourth-root trick&#39;&#39; used in unquenched lattice calculations where the number of flavors $N_f<4$.