Monte Carlo yields hadron masses

The odds look increasingly favorable that Monte Carlo methods will pay off as a computational tool in the theory of quarks. Over a year ago, theorists began to gain insight into the nature of strong interactions by applying statistical methods to a formulation of quantum chromodynamics on a discrete space–time lattice, but their calculations involved only a pure gluon field and no quarks. The inclusion of fermions, and hence the calculation of physical observables, appeared to require formidable amounts of computer time. In the interim, several theorists have devised approximations and algorithms that allow them to estimate some hadron masses with fairly good agreement and with reasonably small errors. Reaction to this new work has ranged from careful scrutiny of the specific premises to great enthusiasm for the general promises of the technique.

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