Width of the flux tube in compact U(1) gauge theory in three dimensions

We study the squared width and the profile of flux tubes in compact U(1) lattice gauge theory in three spacetime dimensions. The results obtained from numerical calculations in the dual formulation of this confining theory are compared with predictions from an effective bosonic-string model and from the dual-superconductor model: it is found that the former fails at describing the quantitative features of the flux tube, while the latter is in good agreement with Monte Carlo data. The analytical interpretation of these results (in the light of the semi-classical analysis by Polyakov) is pointed out, and a comparison with non-Abelian gauge theories in four spacetime dimensions is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 5 pdf figures; v2: 21 pages, 8 pdf figures: references added, new data and new figures included, discussion slightly revise

Fine structure of the confining string in an analytically solvable 3D model

In $\mathrm{U(1)}$ lattice gauge theory in three spacetime dimensions, confinement can be analytically shown to persist at all values of the coupling. Furthermore, the explicit predictions for the dependence of string tension $\sigma$ and mass gap $m_0$ on the coupling allow one to tune their ratio at will. These features, and the possibility of obtaining high-precision numerical results via an exact duality map to a spin model, make this theory an ideal laboratory to test the effective string description of confining flux tubes. In this contribution, we discuss our investigation of next-to-leading-order corrections to the confining potential and of the finite-temperature behavior of the flux tube width. Our data provide a very stringent test of the theoretical predictions for these quantities and allow to test their dependence on the $m_0/\sqrt{\sigma}$ ratio.Comment: Presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, German

A different kind of string

In U(1) lattice gauge theory in three spacetime dimensions, the problem of confinement can be studied analytically in a semi-classical approach, in terms of a gas of monopoles with Coulomb-like interactions. In addition, this theory can be mapped to a spin model via an exact duality transformation, which allows one to perform high-precision numerical studies of the confining potential. Taking advantage of these properties, we carried out an accurate investigation of the effective string describing the low-energy properties of flux tubes in this confining gauge theory. We found striking deviations from the expected Nambu-Goto-like behavior, and, for the first time, evidence for contributions that can be described by a term proportional to the extrinsic curvature of the effective string worldsheet. Such term is allowed by Lorentz invariance, and its presence in the infrared regime of the U(1) model was indeed predicted by Polyakov several years ago. Our results show that this term scales as expected according to Polyakov's solution, and becomes the dominant contribution to the effective string action in the continuum limit. We also demonstrate analytically that the corrections to the confining potential induced by the extrinsic curvature term can be related to the partition function of the massive perturbation of a c=1 bosonic conformal field theory. The implications of our results for SU(N) Yang-Mills theories in three and in four spacetime dimensions are discussed.Comment: 1+21 pages, 2 figures; v2 (1+24 pages, 2 figures): improved the discussion in the conclusions' section, added an appendix, included new references, updated the affiliation details for one of the authors, corrected typos: version published in the journa

Effective string description of the interquark potential in the 3D U(1) lattice gauge theory

The U(1) lattice gauge theory in three dimensions is a perfect laboratory to study the properties of the confining string. On the one hand, thanks to the mapping to a Coulomb gas of monopoles, the confining properties of the model can be studied semi-classically. On the other hand, high-precision numerical estimates of Polyakov loop correlators can be obtained via a duality map to a spin model. This allowed us to perform high-precision tests of the universal behavior of the effective string and to find macroscopic deviations with respect to the expected Nambu-Goto predictions. These corrections could be fitted with very good precision including a contribution (which is consistent with Lorentz symmetry) proportional to the square of the extrinsic curvature in the effective string action, as originally suggested by Polyakov. Performing our analysis at different values of $\beta$ we were able to show that this term scales as expected by Polyakov's solution and dominates in the continuum. We also discuss the interplay between the extrinsic curvature contribution and the boundary correction induced by the Polyakov loops.Comment: 7 pages, 2 pdf figures, contribution to the 32nd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory "Lattice 2014" (23-28 June 2014, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Squared width and profile of the confining flux tube in the U(1) LGT in 3D

The dual formulation of the compact U(1) lattice gauge theory in three spacetime dimensions allows to finely study the squared width and the profile of the confining flux tube on a wide range of physical interquark distances. The results obtained in Monte Carlo simulations are compared with the predictions of the effective bosonic-string model and with the dual superconductor model. While the former fails at describing the data from a quantitative point of view, the latter is in good agreement with it. An interpretation of these results is proposed in light of the particular features of the U(1) lattice gauge theory in 3D and a comparison with non-Abelian gauge theories in four spacetime dimensions is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures,Talk presented at the 34th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2016), 24-30 July 2016, Southampton, U

Out-of-equilibrium simulations to fight topological freezing

Calculations of topological observables in lattice gauge theories with traditional Monte Carlo algorithms have long been known to be a difficult task, owing to the effects of long autocorrelations times. Several mitigation strategies have been put forward, including the use of open boundary conditions and methods such as parallel tempering. In this contribution we examine a new approach based on out-of-equilibrium Monte Carlo simulations. Starting from thermalized configurations with open boundary conditions on a line defect, periodic boundary conditions are gradually switched on. A sampling of topological observables is then shown to be possible with a specific reweighting-like technique inspired by Jarzynski's equality. We discuss the efficiency of this approach using results obtained for the 2-dimensional $\mathrm{CP}^{N-1}$ models. Furthermore, we outline the implementation of our proposal in the context of Stochastic Normalizing Flows, as they share the same theoretical framework of the non-equilibrium transformations we perform, and can be thought of as their generalization.Comment: 1+8 pages, 6 figures, contribution for the 40th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2023), July 31st - August 4th, 2023, Fermi National Accelerator Laborator

Conformal field theory and the hot phase of three-dimensional U(1) gauge theory

We study the high-temperature phase of compact U(1) gauge theory in 2+1 dimensions, comparing the results of lattice calculations with analytical predictions from the conformal-field-theory description of the low-temperature phase of the bidimensional XY model. We focus on the two-point correlation functions of probe charges and the field-strength operator, finding excellent quantitative agreement with the functional form and the continuously varying critical indices predicted by conformal field theory.Comment: 1+26 pages, 4 figures; v2: 1+31 pages, 4 figure

The quenched glueball spectrum from smeared spectral densities

The standard approach to compute the glueball spectrum on the lattice relies on the evaluation of effective masses from two-point correlation functions of operators with the quantum numbers of the desired state. In this work, we propose an alternative procedure, based on the numerical computation of smeared spectral densities. Even though the extraction of the latter from lattice correlators is a notoriously ill-posed inverse problem, we show that a recently developed numerical method, based on the Backus-Gilbert regularization, provides a robust way to evaluate a smeared version of the spectral densities. Fitting the latter to a combination of Gaussians, we extract the masses of the lightest glueball and of its first excitation in the spectrum of the theory. While the preliminary results presented in this contribution are restricted to simulations at finite lattice spacing and finite volume, and for the purely gluonic sector of QCD, they represent the first step in a systematic investigation of glueballs using spectral-reconstruction methods.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the 40th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 31st of July - 4th of August, 2023, Fermilab, Batavia, U.S.