Topology in 2D CPN-1 models on the lattice: A critical comparison of different cooling techniques - art. no. 094507

Two-dimensional CPN-1 models are used to compare the behavior of different cooling techniques on the lattice. Cooling is one of the most frequently us ed tools to study on the lattice the topological properties of the vacuum o f a field theory. We show that different cooling methods behave in an equiv alent way. To see this we apply the cooling methods on classical instantoni c configurations and on configurations of the thermal equilibrium ensemble. We also calculate the topological susceptibility by using the cooling tech nique and analyze the picture of cooling as a diffusion process.