The long-range, parity-odd nucleon interaction generated by single pion exchange is captured in the parity-odd pion-nucleon coupling $h^1_\pi$. Its calculation in lattice QCD requires the evaluation of 4-quark operator nucleon 3-point functions. We investigate a new numerical approach to compute $h^1_\pi$ based on nucleon matrix elements of parity-even 4-quark operators and related to the parity-violating electro-weak theory by PCAC and chiral perturbation theory. This study is performed with 2+1+1 dynamical flavors of twisted mass fermions at pion mass $m_{\pi} \approx 260\,\text{MeV}$ in a lattice box of $L \approx 3 \,\text{fm} $ and with a lattice spacing of $a \approx 0.091 \,\text{fm}$. From a calculation excluding fermion loop diagrams we find a bare coupling of $h^1_\pi = 8.08 \,(98) \cdot 10^{-7}$.

We study a doubly-bottomed tetra-quark state $(bb\bar{u}\bar{d})$ with quantum number $I(J^P)=0(1^+)$, denoted by $T_{bb}$, in lattice QCD with the Non-Relativistic QCD (NRQCD) quark action for $b$ quarks. Employing $(2+1)$-flavor gauge configurations at $a \approx 0.09$ {fm} on $32^3\times 64$ lattices, we have extracted the coupled channel potential between $\bar{B}\bar{B}^*$ and $\bar{B}^* \bar{B}^*$ in the HAL QCD method, which predicts an existence of a bound $T_{bb}$ below the $\bar{B}\bar{B}^*$ threshold. By extrapolating results at $m_\pi\approx 410,\, 570,\, 700$ {MeV} to the physical pion mass $m_\pi\approx140$ {MeV}, we obtain a biding energy with its statistical error as $E_{\rm binding}^{\rm (single)} = 155(17)$ MeV and $E_{\rm binding}^{\rm (coupled)} = 83(10)$ MeV, where ``coupled" means that effects due to virtual $\bar{B}^* \bar{B}^*$ states are included through the coupled channel potential, while only a potential for a single $\bar{B}\bar{B}^*$ channel is used in the analysis for ``single". A comparison shows that the effect from virtual $\bar{B}^* \bar{B}^*$ states is quite sizable to the binding energy of $T_{bb}$. We estimate systematic errors to be $\pm 20$ MeV at most, which are mainly caused by the NRQCD approximation for $b$ quarks.

We study radiative corrections to low-energy charged-current processes involving nucleons, such as neutron beta decay and (anti)neutrino-nucleon scattering within a top-down effective-field-theory approach. We first match the Standard Model to the low-energy effective theory valid below the weak scale and, using renormalization group equations with anomalous dimensions of $\mathcal{O}(\alpha, \alpha \alpha_s, \alpha^2)$, evolve the resulting effective coupling down to the hadronic scale. Here, we first match to heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory and subsequently, below the pion-mass scale, to a pionless effective theory, evolving the effective vector coupling with anomalous dimensions of $\mathcal{O}(\alpha, \alpha^2)$ all the way down to the scale of the electron mass, relevant for beta decays. We thus provide a new evaluation of the ``inner" radiative corrections to the vector coupling constant and to the neutron decay rate, discussing differences with the previous literature. Using our new result for the radiative corrections, we update the extraction of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $V_{ud}$ from the neutron decay.

Parton distribution functions (DFs) are defining expressions of hadron structure. Exploiting the role of effective charges in quantum chromodynamics, an algebraic scheme is described which, given any hadron's valence parton DFs at the hadron scale, delivers predictions for all its DFs -- unpolarised and polarised -- at any higher scale. The scheme delivers results that are largely independent of both the value of the hadron scale and the pointwise form of the charge; and, inter alia, enables derivation of a model-independent identity that relates the strength of the proton's gluon helicity DF, $\Delta G_p^\zeta$, to that of the analogous singlet polarised quark DF and valence quark momentum fraction. Using available data fits and theory predictions, the identity yields $\Delta G_p(\zeta_{\rm C}=\surd 3{\rm GeV})=1.48(10)$. It furthermore entails that the measurable quark helicity contribution to the proton spin is $\tilde a_{0p}^{\zeta_{\rm C}}=0.32(3)$, thereby reconciling contemporary experiment and theory.

We study the plaquette valence bond solid phase in a XXZ type spin-1/2 model in the kagome lattice. The low energy theory for this phase is a U(1) lattice gauge theory on the honeycomb lattice. We find that there is an emergent 1-form U(1) symmetry in low energy, and there is a mixed anomaly. We also show that this 1-form symmetry constraints the longitudinal dynamical structure factor and leads to the selection rule relating to the vanishing intensity along some high symmetry momentum paths (e.g. $\Gamma-M$ path). We point out that this emergent 1-form symmetry is robust against the translation symmetry preserving UV perturbation, thus the selection rule will also apply to the model which is obtained by perturbing the classical limit of our model.

We propose a chiral quark model including the $\omega$ and $\rho$ meson contributions in addition to the $\pi$ and $\sigma$ meson contributions. We show that the masses of the ground state baryons such as the nucleon, $\Lambda_c$ and $\Lambda_b$ are dramatically improved in the model with the vector mesons compared with the one without them. The study of the tetraquark $T_{cc}$ is also performed in a coupled channel calculation and the resultant mass is much closer to the experiment than the result without vector meson contribution. This approach could be applied in future study of multi-quark systems.