Simulation of the strong interaction

In the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, quarks are permanently confined by the strong interaction into bound states called hadrons. The values of some parameters, such as the quark masses and the strengths of the decays of one quark flavour into another, cannot be measured directly and must be deduced from experiments on hadrons. This requires calculations of the strong-interaction effects within the bound states, which are only possible using numerical simulations of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the quantum field theory of the strong interaction. In conjunction with experimental data from B factories over the next few years, QCD simulations may provide clues to physics beyond the SM. The simulations are computationally intensive and, for the past 20 years, have exploited leading-edge computing technology. This continues today, with a project to develop a 10 Tflops computer for QCD costing less than $1 per Mflops.