Chiral symmetry breaking in lattice electrodynamics

Abstract Chiral symmetry breaking is studied in lattice quantum electrodynamics in the quenched approximation by computer simulation methods. Simulations at zero temperature show that 〈 Ψ Ψ〉 is non-zero for all couplings e 2 greater than a critical value e c 2 . The sensitivity of 〈 Ψ Ψ〉 to short-distance features of the lattice action is studied by simulating variant gauge actions. Simulations on asymmetric lattices do not reveal significant temperature dependence in the symmetry breaking dynamics. Subtle effects and limitations of quenched calculations are discussed.