Direct and indirect loop equations in lattice Yang-Mills theory

A bstract The dynamics of Wilson loops are governed by an infinite set of Schwinger-Dyson equations and trace relations. In the context of the lattice positivity bootstrap, a central challenge is determining a dynamically independent basis of these operators within a truncated space. We present a systematic framework to address this problem, utilizing a geometric plaquette-cut and subloop-cut strategy to efficiently generate all (local) direct equations. Furthermore, we identify and analyze “indirect equations”, which arise from the elimination of higher-length intermediate loops. We elucidate the origin of these subtle relations and propose a vertex-filtering strategy to construct them. Applying the above framework to SU(2) lattice Yang-Mills theory, we provide explicit counts of independent canonical loops and equations in 2, 3, and 4 dimensions, along with a statistical analysis of their asymptotic growth.