Instanton Content of the SU(3) Vacuum

Abstract

We study the topological content of the SU(3) vacuum using the renormalization group (RG) mapping method. RG mapping is a simple smoothing algorithm, in which a series of APE-smearing steps are done while the topological content of the configuration is carefully monitored. This monitoring process makes it possible to separate true topological objects from vacuum fluctuations and allows an extrapolation to zero smearing steps. Using RG mapping we have measured the instanton distribution and topological susceptibility for SU(3) gauge theory. We arrive at a value for the topological susceptibily, $χ^{1/4}$ of 203(5) MeV. The size distribution peaks at $ρ=0.3$fm, and is in good agreement with the prediction of instanton liquid models.