Frequency-splitting estimators for single-propagator traces

Abstract: In these proceedings we address the computation of quark-line disconnected diagrams in lattice QCD. The evaluation of these diagrams is required for many phenomenologically interesting observables, but suffers from large statistical errors due to the vacuum and random-noise contributions to their variances. Motivated by a theoretical analysis of the variances, we introduce a new family of stochastic estimators of single-propagator traces built upon a frequency splitting combined with a hopping expansion of the quark propagator, and test their efficiency in two-flavour QCD with pions as light as 190 MeV. The use of these estimators reduces the cost of the computation by one to two orders of magnitude over standard estimators depending on the fermion bilinear. As a concrete application, we show the impact of these findings on the computation of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment.