Lattice Hamiltonian approach to the massless Schwinger model: Precise extraction of the mass gap Original Research Article

We present results of applying the Hamiltonian approach to the massless Schwinger model. A finite basis is constructed using the strong coupling expansion to a very high order. Using exact diagonalization, the continuum limit can be reliably approached. This allows to reproduce the analytical results for the ground state energy, as well as the vector and scalar mass gaps to an outstanding precision better than 10−6%.