Gribov copies is the minimal Landau gauge: The influence on gluon and ghost propagators

We study the influence of Gribov copies on gluon and ghost propagators, evaluated numerically in pure SU(2) lattice gauge theory in the minimal Landau gauge. Simulations are done at four different values of beta (namely beta = 0, 0.8, 1.6 and 2.7) and for volumes up to 16(4) (up to 24(4) at beta = 1.6). For the gluon propagator, Gribov noise seems to be of the order of magnitude of the numerical accuracy, even at very small values of the coupling beta. On the contrary, for the ghost propagator, Gribov noise is clearly observable for the three values of beta in the strong-coupling regime. In particular, data corresponding to the minimal Landau gauge are always smaller than those obtained in a generic Landau gauge. This result can be qualitatively explained. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.