Effective potential analysis for 5D SU(2) gauge theories at finite temperature and radius

We calculate the one loop effective potential for a 5D SU(2) gauge field theory at finite temperature $T=1/\beta$ and radius R=1/M. This calculation is performed, for the first time, in the case of background fields with two constant components $A^{3}_{y}$ (directed towards the compact extra dimension with radius R) and $A^{3}_{\tau}$ (directed towards the compact Euclidean time with radius $\beta$). This model possesses two discrete symmetries known as Z_{M}(2) and Z_{T}(2). The corresponding phase diagram is presented in Ref. 4. However the arguments which lead to this diagram are mainly qualitative. We present a detailed analysis, from our point of view, for this phase diagram, and we support our arguments performing lattice simulations for a simple phenomenological model with two scalar fields interacting through the previously calculated potential.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures ; typos correcte

Spatial 't Hooft loop to cubic order in hot QCD

Spatial 't Hooft loops of strength k measure the qualitative change in the behaviour of electric colour flux in confined and deconfined phase of SU (N) gauge theory. They show an area law in the deconfined phase, known analytica lly to two loop order with a ``k-scaling'' law k(N-k). In this paper we comput e the O(g^3) correction to the tension. It is due to neutral gluon fields that get their mass through interaction with the wall. The simple k-scaling is lost in cubic order. The generic problem of non-convexity shows up in this order an d the cure is provided. The result for large N is explicitely given. We show tha t nonperturbative effects appear at O(g^5).Comment: 22 pages. Apart from a discussion on the renormalization effect of the Polyakov loop to cubic order only cosmetic changes with respect to the earlier hep-ph/021229

Z(N) wall junctions: Monopole fossils in hot QCD

We point out that the effective action of hot Yang--Mills theories has semi-classical solutions, which are naturally identified with monopole world lines, ``frozen'' into the short imaginary time dimension. The solutions look like wall junctions: lines along which N electric Z(N) domain walls come together. They are instrumental in reconciling explicit perturbative calculations at high temperature with the magnetic Z(N) symmetry.Comment: 10 pages, Late

Quasi particles in hot QCD

We show at very high temperature how the behaviour of the spatial 't Hooft loop in the QCD plasma is simply related to the chromo electric flux of the gluons. This simple picture is vindicated by a systematic quasi classical approach. The spatial Wilson loop 's behaviour is computed by a similar nearly free plasma of magnetic quasiparticles. This model predicts unambiguously ratios of multiply charged Wilson loops. Recent simulations confirm these predictions accurately.Comment: 3 pages. Talk given at Lattice200

't Hooft and Wilson loop ratios in the QCD plasma

The spatial 't Hooft loop measuring the electric flux and the spatial Wilsonloop measuring the magnetic flux are analyzed in hot SU(N) gauge theory. Both display area laws. On one hand the tension of the 't Hooft loop is perturbatively calculable, in the same sense as the pressure. We show that the O(g^3) contribution is absent. The ratio of multi-charged 't Hooft loops have a remarkably simple dependence on the charge, true up to, but not including, O(g^4). This dependence follows also from a simple model of free screened colour charges. On the other hand the surface tension of the Wilsonloop is non-perturbative. But in a model of screened free monopoles at very high temperature the known area law follows. The density of these monopoles starts to contribute to O(g^6) to the pressure. The ratio of the multicharged Wilson loops is calculable and identical to that of the 't Hooft loops.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure

Domain Walls and Metastable Vacua in Hot Orientifold Field Theories

We consider "Orientifold field theories", namely SU(N) gauge theories with Dirac fermions in the two-index representation at high temperature. When N is even these theories exhibit a spontaneously broken Z2 centre symmetry. We study aspects of the domain wall that interpolates between the two vacua of the theory. In particular we calculate its tension to two-loop order. We compare its tension to the corresponding domain wall in a SU(N) gauge theory with adjoint fermions and find an agreement at large-N, as expected from planar equivalence between the two theories. Moreover, we provide a non-perturbative proof for the coincidence of the tensions at large-N. We also discuss the vacuum structure of the theory when the fermion is given a large mass and argue that there exist N-2 metastable vacua. We calculate the lifetime of those vacua in the thin wall approximation.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures. v2: minor changes in the introduction section. to appear in JHE

Monopoles, vortices and confinement in SU(3) gauge theory

We compute, in SU(3) pure gauge theory, the vacuum expectation value (vev) of the operator which creates a $Z_3$ vortex wrapping the lattice through periodic boundary conditions (dual Polyakov line). The technique used is the same already tested in the SU(2) case. The dual Polyakov line proves to be a good disorder parameter for confinement, and has a similar behaviour to the monopole condensate. The new features which characterise the construction of the disorder operator in SU(3) are emphasised.Comment: 8 pages, 4 eps figures, typed with elsart.cl

The interaction between center monopoles in SU(2) Yang-Mills

We study the potential between a static center monopole and antimonopole in 4d SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. Using a new numerical method, we show that the 't Hooft loop is a dual order parameter with respect to the Wilson loop, for the deconfinement phase transition. We observe a 3d Ising-like critical behaviour for the dual string tension related to the spatial 't Hooft loop as a function of the temperature.Comment: Lattice2000(Topology and Vacuum), 4 pages, 3 figure

Properties of the deconfining phase transition in SU(N) gauge theories

We extend our earlier investigation of the finite temperature deconfinement transition in SU(N) gauge theories, with the emphasis on what happens as N->oo. We calculate the latent heat in the continuum limit, and find the expected quadratic in N behaviour at large N. We confirm that the phase transition, which is second order for SU(2) and weakly first order for SU(3), becomes robustly first order for N>3 and strengthens as N increases. As an aside, we explain why the SU(2) specific heat shows no sign of any peak as T is varied across what is supposedly a second order phase transition. We calculate the effective string tension and electric gluon masses at T=Tc confirming the discontinuous nature of the transition for N>2. We explicitly show that the large-N `spatial' string tension does not vary with T for T<Tc and that it is discontinuous at T=Tc. For T>Tc it increases as T-squared to a good approximation, and the k-string tension ratios closely satisfy Casimir Scaling. Within very small errors, we find a single Tc at which all the k-strings deconfine, i.e. a step-by-step breaking of the relevant centre symmetry does not occur. We calculate the interface tension but are unable to distinguish between linear or quadratic in N variations, each of which can lead to a striking but different N=oo deconfinement scenario. We remark on the location of the bulk phase transition, which bounds the range of our large-N calculations on the strong coupling side, and within whose hysteresis some of our larger-N calculations are performed.Comment: 50 pages, 14 figure