Matrix Elements of the Singlet Axial Current in the Proton

Abstract

We present a method to estimate the matrix element of the singlet axial current within a polarized proton state using lattice QCD. The method relies on using the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly and gives the desired result in the chiral limit. We show that this method fails in the quenched approximation. For heavy quarks one does not expect much difference between simulations including dynamical quarks and those done in the quenched approximation. For that reason we explore numerical methods on an existing set of quenched configurations. The data obtained in this exploratory study show a poor statistical signal.