Fit to gluon propagator and Gribov formula

We report a numerical study of SU(2) lattice gauge theory in the minimal Coulomb gauge at beta = 2.2 and 9 different volumes. After extrapolation to infinite volume, our fit agrees with a lattice discretization of Gribov's formula for the transverse equal-time would-be physical gluon propagator, that vanishes like [k] at k = 0, whereas the free equal-time propagator (2 \k\)(-1) diverges. Our fit lends reality to a confinement scenario in which the would-be physical gluons leave the physical spectrum while the long-range Coulomb force confines color. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.