A study of the Gribov copies in linear covariant gauges in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories

The Gribov copies and their consequences on the infrared behavior of the gluon propagator are investigated in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories quantized in linear covariant gauges. Considering small values of the gauge parameter, it turns out that the transverse component of the gluon propagator is suppressed, while its longitudinal part is left unchanged. A Green function, G_{tr}, which displays infrared enhancement and which reduces to the ghost propagator in the Landau gauge is identified. The inclusion of the dimension two gluon condensate <A^2> is also considered. In this case, the transverse component of the gluon propagator and the Green function G_{tr} remain suppressed and enhanced, respectively. Moreover, the longitudinal part of the gluon propagator becomes suppressed. A comparison with the results obtained from the studies of the Schwinger-Dyson equations and from lattice simulations is provided.