The strength of the interaction between quarks and gluons

The strength of the interaction between quarks and gluons | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article The strength of the interaction between quarks and gluons Alberto Ramos, Mattia Dalla Brida, Roman Höellwieser, Francesco Knechtli, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5974711/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Modern particle physics experiments, e.g. at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, crucially depend on the precise description of the scattering processes in terms of the known fundamental forces. This is limited by our current understanding of the strong nuclear force, as quantified by the strong coupling, $\alpha_s$, between quarks and gluons. Relating $\alpha_s$ to experiments poses a major challenge as the strong interactions lead to the confinement of quarks and gluons inside hadronic bound states. At high energies, however, the strong interactions become weaker (''asymptotic freedom’’) and thus amenable to an expansion in powers of the coupling. Attempts to relate both regimes usually rely on modeling of the bound state problem in one way or another. Using large scale numerical simulations of a first principles formulation of Quantum Chromodynamics on a space-time lattice, we have carried out a model-independent determination of $\alpha_s$ with unprecedented precision. The uncertainty, about half that of all other results combined, originates predominantly from the statistical Monte Carlo evaluation and has a clear probabilistic interpretation. The result for $\alpha_s$ describes a variety of physical phenomena over a wide range of energy scales. If used as input information, it will enable significantly improved analyses of many high energy experiments, by removing an important source of theoretical uncertainty. This will increase the likelihood to uncover small effects of yet unknown physics, and enable stringent precision tests of the Standard Model. In summary, this result boosts the discovery potential of the LHC and future colliders, and the methods developed in this work pave the way for even higher precision in the future. PAC Codes: 12.38.Aw , 12.38.Bx , 12.38.Gc , 11.10.Hi , 11.10.Jj Preprint: DESY-25-008,WUB/25-00 Physical sciences/Physics/Particle physics/Theoretical particle physics Physical sciences/Physics/Particle physics/Phenomenology QCD Perturbation Theory Lattice QCD Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5974711","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":417350822,"identity":"b62526b0-a307-44f6-aad1-82bddf384a48","order_by":0,"name":"Alberto 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