Moran, P.Leinweber, D.2008-08-052008-08-052008Physical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology, 2008; 77(9):094501-1-094501-91550-79981550-2368http://hdl.handle.net/2440/47165A new over-improved stout-link smearing algorithm, designed to stabilize instanton-like objects, is presented. A method for quantifying the selection of the over-improvement parameter, epsilon, is demonstrated. The new smearing algorithm is compared with the original stout-link smearing, and Symanzik improved smearing through calculations of the topological charge and visualizations of the topological charge density. We find the incorporation of improvement in stout-link smearing to be essential for the accurate study of QCD vacuum structure.en©2008 American Physical SocietyJournal article002008087710.1103/PhysRevD.77.0945010002562970000522-s2.0-4344911922043235Leinweber, D. [0000-0002-4745-6027]