22 research outputs found
Center Dominance in SU(2) Gauge-Higgs Theory
We study the SU(2) gauge-Higgs system in D=4 dimensions, and analyze the
influence of the fundamental-representation Higgs field on the vortex content
of the gauge field. It is shown that center projected Polyakov lines, at low
temperature, are finite in the infinite volume limit, which means that the
center vortex distribution is consistent with color screening. In addition we
confirm and further investigate the presence of a "Kertesz-line" in the
strong-coupling region of the phase diagram, which we relate to the percolation
properties of center vortices. It is shown that this Kertesz-line separates the
gauge-Higgs phase diagram into two regions: a confinement-like region, in which
center vortices percolate, and a Higgs region, in which they do not. The free
energy of the gauge-Higgs system, however, is analytic across the Kertesz line.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure
Center vortex properties in the Laplace center gauge of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory
Resorting to the the Laplace center gauge (LCG) and to the Maximal-center
gauge (MCG), respectively, confining vortices are defined by center projection
in either case. Vortex properties are investigated in the continuum limit of
SU(2) lattice gauge theory. The vortex (area) density and the density of vortex
crossing points are investigated. In the case of MCG, both densities are
physical quantities in the continuum limit. By contrast, in the LCG the
piercing as well as the crossing points lie dense in the continuum limit. In
both cases, an approximate treatment by means of a weakly interacting vortex
gas is not appropriate.Comment: reference added, submitted to Phys. Lett.
Topological Susceptibility of Yang-Mills Center Projection Vortices
The topological susceptibility induced by center projection vortices
extracted from SU(2) lattice Yang-Mills configurations via the maximal center
gauge is measured. Two different smoothing procedures, designed to eliminate
spurious ultraviolet fluctuations of these vortices before evaluating the
topological charge, are explored. They result in consistent estimates of the
topological susceptibility carried by the physical thick vortices
characterizing the Yang-Mills vacuum in the vortex picture. This susceptibility
is comparable to the one obtained from the full lattice Yang-Mills
configurations. The topological properties of the SU(2) Yang-Mills vacuum can
thus be accounted for in terms of its vortex content.Comment: 12 revtex pages, 6 ps figures included using eps
Center Vortex Model for the Infrared Sector of SU(3) Yang-Mills Theory - Confinement and Deconfinement
The center vortex model for the infrared sector of Yang-Mills theory,
previously studied for the SU(2) gauge group, is extended to SU(3). This model
is based on the assumption that vortex world-surfaces can be viewed as random
surfaces in Euclidean space-time. The confining properties are investigated,
with a particular emphasis on the finite-temperature deconfining phase
transition. The model predicts a very weak first order transition, in agreement
with SU(3) lattice Yang-Mills theory, and also reproduces a consistent behavior
of the spatial string tension in the deconfined phase. The geometrical
structure of the center vortices is studied, including vortex branchings, which
are a new property of the SU(3) case.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures (30 eps-files), uses LaTeX package "psfrag
Topology of Center Vortices
The topology of center vortices is studied. For this purpose it is sufficient
to consider mathematically idealised vortices, defined in a gauge invariant way
as closed (infinitely thin) flux surfaces (in D=4 dimensions) which contribute
the n'th power of a non-trivial center element to Wilson loops when they are
n-foldly linked to the latter. In ordinary 3-space generic center vortices
represent closed magnetic flux loops which evolve in time. I show that the
topological charge of such a time-dependent vortex loop can be entirely
expressed by the temporal changes of its writhing number.Comment: 48 pages, 11 figure
Coulomb Energy, Remnant Symmetry, and the Phases of Non-Abelian Gauge Theories
We show that the confining property of the one-gluon propagator, in Coulomb
gauge, is linked to the unbroken realization of a remnant gauge symmetry which
exists in this gauge. An order parameter for the remnant gauge symmetry is
introduced, and its behavior is investigated in a variety of models via
numerical simulations. We find that the color-Coulomb potential, associated
with the gluon propagator, grows linearly with distance both in the confined
and - surprisingly - in the high-temperature deconfined phase of pure
Yang-Mills theory. We also find a remnant symmetry-breaking transition in SU(2)
gauge-Higgs theory which completely isolates the Higgs from the
(pseudo)confinement region of the phase diagram. This transition exists despite
the absence, pointed out long ago by Fradkin and Shenker, of a genuine
thermodynamic phase transition separating the two regions.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures, revtex
Energy Density of Vortices in the Schroedinger Picture
The one-loop energy density of an infinitely thin static magnetic vortex in
SU(2) Yang-Mills theory is evaluated using the Schroedinger picture. Both the
gluonic fluctuations as well as the quarks in the vortex background are
included. The energy density of the magnetic vortex is discussed as a function
of the magnetic flux. The center vortices correspond to local minima in the
effective potential. These minima are degenerated with the perturbative vacuum
if the fermions are ignored. Inclusion of fermions lifts this degeneracy,
raising the vortex energy above the energy of the perturbative vacuum.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figure
Writhe of center vortices and topological charge -- an explicit example
The manner in which continuum center vortices generate topological charge
density is elucidated using an explicit example. The example vortex
world-surface contains one lone self-intersection point, which contributes a
quantum 1/2 to the topological charge. On the other hand, the surface in
question is orientable and thus must carry global topological charge zero due
to general arguments. Therefore, there must be another contribution, coming
from vortex writhe. The latter is known for the lattice analogue of the example
vortex considered, where it is quite intuitive. For the vortex in the
continuum, including the limit of an infinitely thin vortex, a careful analysis
is performed and it is shown how the contribution to the topological charge
induced by writhe is distributed over the vortex surface.Comment: 33 latex pages, 10 figures incorporating 14 ps files. Furthermore,
the time evolution of the vortex line discussed in this work can be viewed as
a gif movie, available for download by following the PostScript link below --
watch for the cute feature at the self-intersection poin
Center Projection Vortices in Continuum Yang-Mills Theory
The maximal center gauge, combined with center projection, is a means to
associate Yang-Mills lattice gauge configurations with closed center vortex
world-surfaces. This technique allows to study center vortex physics in lattice
gauge experiments. In the present work, the continuum analogue of the maximal
center gauge is constructed. This sheds new light on the meaning of the
procedure on the lattice and leads to a sketch of an effective vortex theory in
the continuum. Furthermore, the manner in which center vortex configurations
generate the Pontryagin index is investigated. The Pontryagin index is built up
from self-intersections of the vortex world-surfaces, where it is crucial that
the surfaces be globally non-oriented.Comment: 64 latex pages, 3 ps figures included via eps
Confinement and Chiral Symmetry Breaking via Domain-Like Structures in the QCD Vacuum
A qualitative mechanism for the emergence of domain structured background
gluon fields due to singularities in gauge field configurations is considered,
and a model displaying a type of mean field approximation to the QCD partition
function based on this mechanism is formulated. Estimation of the vacuum
parameters (gluon condensate, topological susceptibility, string constant and
quark condensate) indicates that domain-like structures lead to an area law for
the Wilson loop, nonzero topological susceptibility and spontaneous breakdown
of chiral symmetry. Gluon and ghost propagators in the presence of domains are
calculated explicitly and their analytical properties are discussed. The
Fourier transforms of the propagators are entire functions and thus describe
confined dynamical fields.Comment: RevTeX, 48 pages (32 pages + Appendices A-E), new references added
[1,2,4,5] and minor formulae corrected for typographical error