Spectral Flow and Index Theorem for Staggered Fermions

Abstract

We investigate numerically the spectral flow introduced by Adams for the staggered Dirac operator on realistic gauge configurations. We study both the unimproved and the HISQ Dirac operators. We compare the spectral flow index with the index obtained by identifying low-lying modes of large chirality.

Talk presented at The XXIX International Conference on Lattice Field Theory - Lattice 2011, July 10-16, 2011, Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, California