SCL hosted a seminar by Marina Marinkovic from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences & Department of Physics, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany on 24 December 2009. In the seminar talk entitled "Lattice QCD: Fundamental Parameters of Quantum Chromodynamics from Non-perturbative Methods", Marina Marinkovic presented basic ideas behind the lattice approach to QCD, and gave overview of the current state of the art in this field, with the emphasis on numerical algorithms used in large-scale QCD simulations.

Abstract of the talk:
In elementary particle physics, lattice QCD is one of the standard tools for studying the fundamental quantum field theory of quarks and gluons – Quantum Chromodynamics. In order to discuss it in a mathematically well-defined way, the theory has to be regularized. Replacing space-time by an Euclidean lattice has proven to be an efficient non-perturbative regularization which makes possible both theoretical understanding and computational analysis. This approach convincingly demonstrates quark confinement and allows for obtaining crucial properties of the strong interactions from first principles, such as the running of the strong coupling and quark masses. The field is rapidly evolving and besides an introductory presentation, some of ongoing efforts, mainly focused on algorithmic developments, are outlined in this talk.