The confining and topological properties of the compact Abelian Higgs model
with doubly-charged Higgs field in three space-time dimensions are studied. We
consider the London limit of the model. We show that the monopoles are forming
chain-like structures (kept together by ANO vortices) the presence of which is
essential for getting simultaneously permanent confinement of singly-charged
particles and breaking of the string spanned between doubly-charged particles.
In the confinement phase the chains are forming percolating clusters while in
the deconfinement (Higgs) phase the chains are of finite size. The described
picture is in close analogy with the synthesis of the Abelian monopole and the
center vortex pictures in confining non--Abelian gauge models. The screening
properties of the vacuum are studied by means of the photon propagator in the
Landau gauge.Comment: 27 pages, 37 figure
