Monte Carlo studies of wilson loops in four-dimensional U(2) gauge theory

Wilson loops are calculated using Monte Carlo simulations for pure U(2) gauge theory on a 6⁴ lattice. The loops appear to contain an area law piece in both the high and low temperature regions. The string tension is discontinuous at β = β_c, where β_c is the critical inverse temperature. This suggests that the first-order phase transition in U(2) gauge theory is not a deconfining phase transition. The determinant of the Wilson loop, however, extracts the U(1) part of the theory and appears to lose the area law at low temperature.     

The nature of the transition in d = 4 U(1) lattice gauge theory

The phase transition for the d = 4 compact U(1) lattice gauge theory has been studied using the Monte Carlo renormalization-group method. A single relevant eigenvalue is observed on the Wilson axis. The MCRG estimate for the exponent v changes with the coupling β; an extrapolation towards β^∞_c provides an estimate v ∼ 0.42 rather than ∼ 0.33 as obtained by finite-size scaling. It is confirmed that loops of monopole current are the mechanism driving the transition. It is shown that at the transition the largest loop of monopole current undergoes a discontinuity in size and begins to span the lattice. On the basis of these findings, it is conjectured that on the Wilson axis the discontinuity is a finite-size effect.     

Alternative scaling hypothesis forSU(2) andSU(3) lattice gauge theories

High precision data from a variety of sources forSU(2) andSU(3) Wilson action lattice gauge theory are analyzed with respect to the hypothesis of the possible existence of a zero temperature deconfining phase transition, in analogy with theU(1) theory. The internal energy, specific heat, string tension, and Wilson line, fit well to correlation length scaling laws associated with a finite order transition occurring at the weak coupling end of the crossover region for both theories. TheSU(2) theory is consistent with a correlation length exponent ν=2/3 and critical pointβ _c ≈2.47. ForSU(3) the data fit well to ν=1 andβ _c ≈6.69. Additional indirect evidence for the existence of such phase transitions is discussed, as is the possible crucial role of light dynamical fermions in the confinement mechanism.     

How well do Monte Carlo simulations distinguish between U(1) and SU(2)?: A study of the string tension in U(1) lattice gauge theory

To investigate how a system with a known deconfining phase transition behaves when studied on finite lattices via Monte Carlo simulations, we have made such studies of compact U(1) lattice gauge theory for 8⁴, 10⁴, and 12⁴ lattices. We have concentrated on the mean plaquette energy and the string tension. The string tension does not vanish on a finite lattice, but using finite size scaling arguments the indications are that it does vanish on an infinite lattice, where we predict the critical coupling β_c = 1.008 and the correlation length exponent $\text{ν =}\text{1}\text{3}$. We compare our results to those for SU(2) and find that although there are differences, they are not yet definitive.     

The string tension of compact U(1) four-dimensional lattice gauge theory

Monte Carlo simulations of the string tension are calculated for four-dimensional U(1) gauge theory on a 6⁴ lattice. The string tension follows the result -1n(β/2) in the high temperature region and is zero for β > β_c, where β_c is the critical inverse temperature.     

Linked cluster expansions for U(1) lattice gauge theory in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions

Compact U(1) lattice gauge theory is studied in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions using strong coupling series expansions and the recently proposed exact linled cluster expansion alborithm Results for the vacuum energy, specific heat and axial string tension in 2 + 1 dimensions are in agreement with previous finite lattice estimates. In 3 + 1 dimensions, we present new strong coupling series results (order g^?40) which together with the ELCE estimates show evidence of a continuous phase transition at x = 1/g⁴ = 0.72 ± 0.08. The associated critical index for the vanishing string tension is μ = 0.65 ± 0.12. The axial string tension in D = 3 + 1 appears to undergo a non-deconfining roughening transition at smaller x (0.56 ± 0.07).     

Wilson loops for U(4) and SU(4) lattice gauge theories in four dimensions

Monte Carlo simulations are used to calculate Wilson loops for pure U(4) and SU(4) gauge theories on a 6⁴ lattice. The first-order phase transitions previously observed in the average action per plaquette for U(4) and SU(4) is also seen in the string tension. U(4) and SU(4) color seem to be confined while U(4) charge in U(4) appears to be deconfined.     

Portraits of the flux tube in QED3: A Monte Carlo simulation with external sources

We determine numerically, and display graphically, the electromagnetic energy distribution due to static sources in compact QED₃. Using the polymer formulation of the functional integral, Monte Carlo simulations are performed with external sources included in the lattice action. Both the Wilson and Villain forms of the action are studied, and the string tension is determined in a small range of weak couplings. For the Villain action, our values for the string tension σ are in agreement with Polyakov's formula. For the Wilson action, we are able to detect a string tension in a range of weak couplings 2.1 ? β ? 2.3 below the weak-to-strong coupling cross-over point. In the same range, standard Monte Carlo results for up to 8 × 8 Wilson loops are consistent with ordinary perturation theory (no confinement). A possible explanation of this discrepancy is discussed, and it is suggested that the standard (source-free) Monte Carlo might miss configurations which are important for flux-tube formation.     

Hadron mass calculations with Susskind and Wilson fermions in the fundamental-adjoint plane

We report the results of hadron mass calculations in the valence (quenched) approximation, on an 8³ × 16 lattice. For Wilson fermions with the standard Wilson action we find good agreement with results form the hopping parameter expansion on a 16⁴ lattice at β = 5.7, with only a small finite size effect in the anticipated direction. The proton-to-rho mass ration is however too high by 60% and the delta-proton mass difference is too small. We have repeated these calculations at two points of the same string tension in the plane of the fundamental and adjoint couplings, in an attempt to avoid the unphysical critical point there; within statistical errors the meson masses remain the same, there is an improvement in the delta-proton splitting and the proton mass decreases slightly, but not enough to produce agreement with experiment. The estimates of lines of constant string tension obtained as a preliminary to the mass calculation are in good agreement with weak coupling expansions at the larger β values and cross over towards strong coupling predictions around β = 5.7. Also, crude estimates reveal the disappearance of the specific heat peak as one moves away from the unphysical singularity. For Susskind fermions we find some measure of agreement with other results form a 10³ × 16 lattice, but large, apparently finite size, effects in the rho mass at low quark mass. Meson masses in lattice units disagree with the Wilson fermion results by as much as a factor of 2. This disagreement persists in the fundamental-adjoint plane, suggesting the importance of studying improved fermion actions. At β = 6.0, Wilson fermion results show clear finite size effects on the 8³ × 16 lattice.     

On the roughening transition in abelian lattice gauge theories

We study the width of the confining string between static quarks in abelian lattice gauge theories using strong coupling expansions. We consider gauge groups Z_n and U(1) in 3 and 4 dimensions. This extends previous work with Lüscher, where SU(2) and Z₂ were studied. In ν = 3 dimensions we find evidence for a roughening transition. It is characterized by a divergence of the string width for an infinitely far separated quark-antiquark pair, while the string tension remains non-zero. In ν = 4 dimensions for the abelian groups we do not have evidence for a roughening transition away from a phase transition.     

String tension,gluebal masses and finite size effects in lattice SU(3)

We estimate the string tension by looking at Wilson loops and measuring the correlation between Wilson lines at g² = 1.0 for lattice SU(3). The bound $\text{Λ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>L</mtext>}}\text{σ}\text{?0.0087 ± 0.0011}$ is larger than the previous results. The mass of the 0⁺⁺ glueball is also estimated. The finite size effects on these quantities are shown to be large by comparing results on a 6³ × 10 lattice with those on 9⁴ lattice.     

Scaling and string tension in pureSU(2) lattice gauge theory

Wilson loops inSU(2) lattice gauge theory without fermions are determined on lattices of size 12⁴, 16⁴ and 24⁴ at β=2.4, 2.5 and 2.6. At β=2.6 the static quark-antiquark potential is extracted for distances up to 8 lattice units. A string tension smaller by a factor 2 than in previous investigations is found. Deviations from asymptotic scaling for multiplicatively improved Creutz ratios are certain, and their magnitude depends on the geometrical size of the ratios. This implies deviations from scaling.     

U(2) four-dimensional simplicial lattice gauge theory

Monte Carlo simulations for pureU (2) gauge theory on a four-dimensional simplicial lattice with six sites in each direction are reported. Wilson loops and the string tensions for squares and triangles are presented. A first-order phase transition, similar to that found for the hypercubical lattice, is observed and found to confineSU (2) colour and deconfineU (1) charge.     

Mean-field theory for quenched reduced large-N gauge model

The reduced model à la Eguchi and Kawai, its quenched version and the Wilson theory in the string variable representation are studied by employing the loop expansion around the mean field. The spontaneous breakdown of the U(1)^d symmetry in the Eguchi-Kawai model is thoroughly investigated. It is shown that the quenched reduced model undergoes the first-order phase transition in excellent agreement with the Monte Carlo data. The quenched reduced model is shown to be equivalent to the standard Wilson theory by comparing with the string variable Wilson theory at any finite order in the loop expansion in the large-N limit.     

String tensions for lattice gauge theories in 2 + 1 dimensions

Compact U(1) and SU(2) lattice gauge theories in 3 euclidean dimensions are studied by standard Monte Carlo techniques. The question of extracting reliable string tensions from these theories is examined in detail, including a comparison of the Monte Carlo Wilson loop data with weak coupling predictions and a careful error analysis: our conclusions are rather different from those of previous investigations of these theories. In the case of U(1) theory, we find that only a tiny range of β values can possibly be relevant for extracting a string tension and we are unable to convincingly demonstrate the expected exponential dependence of the string tension on β. For the SU(2) theory we are able to determine, albeit with rather large errors, a string tension from a study of Wilson loops.     

Strong-coupling planar diagrams,random surfaces,and the large-N phase transition in U(N) lattice gauge theories

The strong-coupling expansion of U(N) gauge theory on a D-dimensional lattice is reformulated in the limit N → ∞ through a set of diagrammatic rules directly for the free energy and Wilson loops. The strong-coupling planar diagrams are interpreted as surfaces embedded in the lattice. The large-N phase transition is related to the entropy of these surfaces. It is shown that the strong-coupling phase of the U(∞) gauge theory terminates with a phase transition of Gross-Witten type only in 2 and 3 dimensions. When D⩾4 the large-N singularity takes place in a metastable phase because of an earlier first-order transition to the weak-coupling phase of the theory.     

Abelian lattice gauge theories in 3 + 1 dimensions: The linked cluster approach

We use the linked cluster expansion methods of Nickel to derive strong couping series for Z_N abelian gauge theories. These new results together with corresponding estimates using the exact linked cluster expansion algorithm are analysed and compared with previously obtained results for U(1) lattice gauge theory in 3 + 1 dimensions. We confirm the phase structure of these theories as found by other techniques. The critical value of N at which the phase structure of Z_N alters is estimated to be N_C = 4.5 ± 0.2. In each case the string tension estimates using the ELCE algorithm are found to be stable in the presence of a roughening transition.     

Wilson loops on 324 lattices and theSU(3) potential

Wilson loops are calculated on 32⁴ lattices in the coupling regime 6/g ²=6.3–6.9. Determination of the string tension from these loops with a method based on string model calculations shows a string tension that does not seem to scale. This is probably due to the amount of statistics. It points to difficulties in obtaining accurate physical results for coupling values above 6.6. Suggestions to improve this situation are made.