Center vortices and colour confinement in lattice QCD
We review lattice evidence showing that center-vortex condensation is a serious candidate for the mechanism of colour confinement in quantum chromodynamics.
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arXiv subjects
M. Faber
Publications and source records attributed to M. Faber.
Recent results in the center vortex model for the infrared sector of Yang-Mills theory
A model for the infrared sector of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory, based on magnetic vortices represented by (closed) random surfaces, is presented. The model quantitatively describes both confinement and the topological aspects of Yang-Mills theory. Details (including an adequate list of references) can be found in hep-lat/9912003 and hep-lat/0004013, both to appear in Nucl. Phys. B.
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Center vortex model for the infrared sector of Yang-Mills theory
A model for the infrared sector of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory, based on magnetic vortices represented by (closed) random surfaces, is presented. The random surfaces, governed by an action penalizing curvature, are investigated using Monte Carlo methods on a hypercubic lattice. A low-temperature confining phase and a high-temperature deconfined phase are generated by this simple dynamics. After fixing the parameters of the model such as to reproduce the relation between deconfinement temperature and zero-temperature string tension found in lattice Yang-Mills theory, a surprisingly accurate prediction of the spatial string tension in the deconfined phase results. Furthermore, the Pontryagin index associated with the lattice random surfaces of the model is constructed. This allows to also predict the topological susceptibility; the result is compatible with measurements in lattice Yang-Mills theory. Thus, for the first time an effective model description of the infrared sector emerges which simultaneously and consistently reproduces both confinement and the topological aspects of Yang-Mills theory within a unified framework. Further details can be found in hep-lat/9912003 and hep-lat/0004013, both to appear in Nucl. Phys. B.
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P-Vortices, Gauge Copies, and Lattice Size
We study the dependence of the center-projected string tension on both the lattice size, and the number of gauge copies used for maximal center gauge fixing. We show that a recent finding of Bornyakov, Komarov, Polikarpov, and Veselov (hep-lat/0002017), indicating a substantial breakdown of center dominance in maximal center gauge, is only obtained for rather small lattice volumes, and is not found in numerical simulations on larger lattices. It is shown that center-projected Creutz ratios approach the full asymptotic string tension as lattice size increases, and that the P-vortex density is consistent, at moderately weak couplings, with 2-loop scaling behavior.
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On the Delta-Delta component of the deuteron in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of light nuclei
The probability P(Delta-Delta) to find the Delta-Delta component inside the deuteron, where Delta stands for the Delta(1232) resonance, is calculated in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of light nuclei. We obtain P(Delta-Delta) = 0.3%. This prediction agrees good with the experimental estimate P(Delta-Delta) < 0.4% at 90% of CL (D. Allasia et al., Phys. Lett. B174 (1986) 450).
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The Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of light nuclei
The Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of the deuteron suggested by Nambu and Jona-Lasinio (Phys. Rev. 124 (1961) 246) is formulated from the first principles of QCD. The deuteron appears as a neutron-proton collective excitation, i.e. a Cooper np-pair, induced by a phenomenological local four-nucleon interaction in the nuclear phase of QCD. The model describes the deuteron coupled to itself, nucleons and other particles through one-nucleon loop exchanges providing a minimal transfer of nucleon flavours from initial to final nuclear states and accounting for contributions of nucleon-loop anomalies which are completely determined by one-nucleon loop diagrams. The dominance of contributions of nucleon-loop anomalies to effective Lagrangians of low-energy nuclear interactions is justified in the large N_C expansion, where N_C is the number of quark colours.
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Dynamics of low-energy nuclear forces for electromagnetic and weak reactions with the deuteron in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of light nuclei
A dynamics of low-energy nuclear forces is investigated for low-energy electromagnetic and weak nuclear reactions with the deuteron in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of light nuclei by example of the neutron-proton radiative capture (M1-capture) n + p -> D + photon, the photomagnetic disintegration of the deuteron photon + D -> n + p and weak reactions of astrophysical interest. These are the solar proton burning p + p -> D + positron + nu_e, the pep-process p + electron + p -> D + nu_e and the neutrino and anti-neutrino disintegration of the deuteron caused by charged nu_e + D -> electron + p + p, anti-nu_e + D -> positron + n + n and neutral nu_e(anti-nu_e) + D -> nu_e(ant-nu_e) + n + p weak currents.
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What are the Confining Field Configurations of Strong-Coupling Lattice Gauge Theory?
Starting from the strong-coupling SU(2) Wilson action in D=3 dimensions, we derive an effective, semi-local action on a lattice of spacing L times the spacing of the original lattice. It is shown that beyond the adjoint color-screening distance, i.e. for $L \ge 5$, thin center vortices are stable saddlepoints of the corresponding effective action. Since the entropy of these stable objects exceeds their energy, center vortices percolate throughout the lattice, and confine color charge in half-integer representations of the SU(2) gauge group. This result contradicts the folklore that confinement in strong-coupling lattice gauge theory, for D>2 dimensions, is simply due to plaquette disorder, as is the case in D=2 dimensions. It also demonstrates explicitly how the emergence and stability of center vortices is related to the existence of color screening by gluon fields.
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On the path integral representation for the Wilson loop and the non-Abelian Stokes theorem
We discuss the derivation of the path integral representation over gauge degrees of freedom for Wilson loops in SU(N) gauge theory and 4-dimensional Euclidean space-time by using well-known properties of group characters. A discretized form of the path integral is naturally provided by the properties of group characters and does not need any artificial regularization. We show that the path integral over gauge degrees of freedom for Wilson loops derived by Diakonov and Petrov (Phys. Lett. B224 (1989) 131) by using a special regularization is erroneous and predicts zero for the Wilson loop. This property is obtained by direct evaluation of path integrals for Wilson loops defined for pure SU(2) gauge fields and Z(2) center vortices with spatial azimuthal symmetry. Further we show that both derivations given by Diakonov and Petrov for their regularized path integral, if done correctly, predict also zero for Wilson loops. Therefore, the application of their path integral representation of Wilson loops cannot give "a new way to check confinement in lattice" as has been declared by Diakonov and Petrov (Phys. Lett. B242 (1990) 425). From the path integral representation which we consider we conclude that no new non-Abelian Stokes theorem can exist for Wilson loops except the old-fashioned one derived by means of the path-ordering procedure.
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On the dual-vector field condensation in the dual Monopole Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with dual Dirac strings
The condensation of a dual-vector field is investigated in the dual Monopole Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with dual Dirac strings. The condensate of a dual-vector field is calculated as a functional of a shape of a dual Dirac string. The obtained result is compared with the gluon condensate calculated in a QCD sum rules approach and on lattice.
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On the Delta-Delta component of the deuteron in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron
The Delta-Delta component of the deuteron, where Delta stands for the Delta(1232) resonance, is calculated in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron. For the probability of the Delta-Delta component of the deuteron we give P(Delta-Delta) = 0.08 %. This prediction agrees good with the experimental estimate P(Delta-Delta) < 0.4 % at 90 % of CL (D. Allasia et al., Phys. Lett. B174 (1986) 450).
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Some Pieces of Lattice Evidence in Favor of the Center-Vortex Picture of Color Confinement
We address two questions related to the procedure of identifying center vortices based on center projection in maximal center gauge: 1. How does the procedure work, why is it expected to locate center vortices relevant for confinement, and why does it in some cases fail, on lattice configurations preconditioned in a special way? 2. Does the mechanism work the same way for 3 colors instead of 2? (The paper is an abridged version of two recent e-prints, hep-lat/9910033 and hep-lat/9911006.)
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Neutron-proton radiative capture, photo-magnetic and anti-neutrino disintegration of the deuteron in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron
The cross sections for the M1-capture n + p -> D + gamma, the photo-magnetic and anti-neutrino disintegration of the deuteron are evaluated in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron (RFMD). The cross section for M1-capture is evaluated by taking into account the contributions of chiral one-meson loop corrections and the Delta(1232) resonance. The cross sections for the photo-magnetic and anti-neutrino disintegration of the deuteron are evaluated by accounting for final-state interaction of the nucleon pair in the spinsinglet S-wave state. The amplitudes of low-energy elastic np and nn scattering contributing to these processes are obtained in terms of the S-wave scattering lengths and the effective ranges. This relaxes substantially the statement by Bahcall and Kamionkowski (Nucl. Phys. A625 (1997) 893) that the RFMD is unable to describe a non-zero effective range for low-energy elastic nucleon-nucleon scattering. The cross sections for the anti-neutrino disintegration of the deuteron averaged over the anti-neutrino energy spectrum agree good with experimental data.
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The relativistic field theory model of the deuteron from low-energy QCD
The relativistic field theory model of the deuteron (RFMD) is reformulated from the first principles of QCD. The deuteron appears as a neutron-proton collective excitation, i.e. a Cooper np-pair, induced by a phenomenological local four-nucleon interaction in the nuclear phase of QCD. The RFMD describes the deuteron coupled to hadrons through one-nucleon loop exchanges providing a minimal transfer of nucleon flavours from initial to final nuclear states and accounting for contributions of nucleon-loop anomalies which are completely determined by one-nucleon loop diagrams. The dominance of contributions of nucleon-loop anomalies to effective Lagrangians of low-energy nuclear interactions is justified in the large N expansion, where N is the number of quark colours.
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First Evidence for Center Dominance in SU(3) Lattice Gauge Theory
The dominance of center degrees of freedom is observed in SU(3) lattice gauge theory in maximal center gauge. The full asymptotic string tension is reproduced, after center projection, by the center elements alone. When center vortices are removed from lattice configurations, the string tension tends to zero. This provides further evidence for the role played by center vortices in the mechanism of color confinement in quantum chromodynamics, but more extensive simulations with a better gauge-fixing procedure are still needed.
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Solar proton burning, neutrino disintegration of the deuteron and pep process in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron
The astrophysical factor S_pp(0) for the solar proton burning, p + p -> D + positron + neutrino, is recalculated in the relativistic field theory model of the deuteron (RFMD). We obtain S_pp(0) = 4.08 x 10^{-25} MeV b which agrees good with the recommended value S_pp(0) = 4.00 x 10^{-25} MeV b. The amplitude of low-energy elastic proton-proton (pp) scattering in the singlet S-wave state with the Coulomb repulsion contributing to the amplitude of the solar proton burning is described in terms of the S-wave scattering length and the effective range. This takes away the problem pointed out by Bahcall and Kamionkowski (Nucl. Phys. A625 (1997) 893) that in the RFMD one cannot describe low-energy elastic pp scattering with the Coulomb repulsion in agreement with low-energy nuclear phenomenology. The cross section for the neutrino disintegration of the deuteron, neutrino + D -> electron + p + p, is calculated with respect to S_pp(0) for neutrino energies from threshold to 10 MeV. The results can be used for the analysis of the data which will be obtained in the experiments planned by SNO. The astrophysical factor S_pep(0) for the pep process, p + electron + p -> neutrino + D, is calculated relative to S_pp(0) in complete agreement with the result obtained by Bahcall and May (ApJ. 155 (1969) 501).
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The Vortex-Finding Property of Maximal Center (and Other) Gauges
We argue that the ``vortex-finding'' property of maximal center gauge, i.e. the ability of this gauge to locate center vortices inserted by hand on any given lattice, is the key to its success in extracting the vortex content of thermalized lattice configurations. We explain how this property comes about, and why it is expected not only in maximal center gauge, but also in an infinite class of gauge conditions based on adjoint-representation link variables. In principle, the vortex-finding property can be foiled by Gribov copies. This fact is relevant to a gauge-fixing procedure devised by Kovacs and Tomboulis, where we show that the loss of center dominance, found in their procedure, is explained by a corresponding loss of the vortex-finding property. The association of center dominance with the vortex-finding property is demonstrated numerically in a number of other gauges.
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The Structure of Projected Center Vortices at Zero and Finite Temperature
We investigate the structure of center projected vortices of SU(2) lattice gauge theory at zero and finite temperature. At zero temperature we find, in agreement with the area law behaviour of Wilson loops, that most of the P-vortex plaquettes are parts of a single huge vortex. This vortex is an unorientable surface and has a very irregular structure with many handles. Small P-vortices, and short-range fluctuations of the large vortex surface, do not contribute to the string tension. At finite temperature P-vortices exist also in the deconfined phase. However, they form cylindric objects which extend in time direction and consist only of space-space plaquettes.
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