Mean-field approach to Z(N) gauge systems with generalized action

The phase diagram of Z(N) lattice gauge theories with generalized action is examined in the mean-field approach. The phase diagram is well reproduced, with the exception of the Coulomb phase, which is absent. A previously identified mechanism that dynamically generates the Coulomb phase from quantum fluctuations is shown to give agreement with Monte Carlo data in four dimensions.     

Variational discussion of the hamiltonian Z(N) spin model in 1 + 1 and 2 + 1 dimensions

We study the Z(N) spin model, as well as its limiting forms for N → ∞ by means of a variational approach. We find, for 1 + 1 dimensions, the two transitions of the model separating the disordered, massless and ordered phases. In the case of 2 + 1 dimensions, we obtain only the disorder-order phase transition which implies for N → ∞ a single confining phase for the dual U(1) gauge theory.     

Triplet Z(N) model in a triangular lattice

The phase structure of a class of two-dimensional spin models with three-body interactions defined on a triangular lattice is studied. This class of models, containing the Baxter-Wu model as a special case, is shown to share the duality properties of a wide class of spin theories in two and three dimensions and the Z(N) gauge theory in four dimensions. Like these models, our theory is shown to possess a massless, Kosterlitz-Thouless-like phase when the number of available spin states exceeds a critical value.     

Z(N) topological excitations in Yang-Mills theories: duality and confinement

We investigate the properties of Z(N) topological excitations in Wilson's lattice formulation of SU(N) Yang-Mills theories. We exhibit the Z(N) topological excitations as exact classical solutions on the lattice. After giving detailed qualitative discussions about the Z(N) excitations and their relevance to confinement, we investigate the Z(N) lattice gauge theories with the Wilson action and show that Z(2), Z(3) and Z(4) models are self-dual systems. (The self-duality of the Z(2) case has been known previously.) This property enables us to locate the critical points exactly in those systems under the assumption that the phase transition occurs at only one point in the coupling constant space. We then derive the effective action for the Z(N) topological excitations in the lattice SU(N) Yang-Mills theories in the steepest descent approximation. The critical coupling constants in the SU(N) models corresponding to the phase transition caused by the Z(N) excitations are estimated by using the information on the Z(N) models with the Wilson action. It is quite probable that the estimated value $\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>r</mtext>}}{}^2\text{/4π}{}^2\text{～}\text{1}\text{31}$ (for SU(3)) is an upper bound. This indicates that the Wilson model of the SU(3) gauge field can be effective action of the QCD gluons which exhibit permanent quark confinement and, at the same time, freedom up to the distance characterized by the energy, at least, ～1 TeV.     

The phase structure of SU(N)/Z(N) lattice gauge theories

The phase structure of pure SU(N)/Z(N) lattice gauge theories in four dimensions is discussed. The presence of ZN monopoles plausibly leads to a phase transition. A Monte Carlo simulation of SO(3) shows the presence of a very strong, may be first order, phase transition.     

Duality for Z(N) gauge theories

The duality properties of simple Z(N) gauge theories are discussed. For N ? 4 we find self duality in four dimensions and we give the transition points. For N > 4 these systems are not self dual. Also, the order parameter is discussed. The general Z(N) gauge theory is found to be self dual for all N.     

Phase structure of QCD at high temperature with massive quarks and finite quark density: A Z(3) paradigm

The confinement/deconfinement phase transition in SU(3) lattice gauge theories at high temperatures is analogous to that of the Z(3) gauge theories. We study various Z(3) gauge-matter theories that result from replacing the gauge group SU(3) with its center Z(3). We include large-mass fermions in the Wilson formulation and allow a chemical potential. We show that in the limit of strong coupling and high temperature the (3 + 1)-dimensional theory becomes a three state, three-dimensional Potts model with uniform external fields of real and imaginary strengths related to the fermion mass and chemical potential. By studying the phase structure of the q = 3, d = 3 Potts model with external fields we argue that the confinement/deconfinement phase transition is first order, but highly sensitive to external fields, and that it does not occur at “strong coupling” in a Z(3) gauge theory if there is a light enough fermion present. We discuss the consequences of this result for QCD.     

On the phase structure of five-dimensional SU(2) gauge theories with anisotropic couplings

The phase diagram of five-dimensional SU(2) gauge theories is explored using Monte Carlo simulations of the theory discretized on a Euclidean lattice using the Wilson plaquette action and periodic boundary conditions. We simulate anisotropic gauge couplings which correspond to different lattice spacings a₄ in four dimensions and a₅ along the extra dimension. In particular we study the case where a₅>a₄. We identify a line of first order phase transitions which separate the confined from the deconfined phase. We perform simulations in large volume at the bulk phase transition staying in the confined vacuum. The static potential measured in the hyperplanes orthogonal to the extra dimension hints at dimensional reduction. We also locate and analyze second order phase transitions related to breaking of the center along one direction.     

Progress in lattice gauge theory

Two topics of lattice gauge theory are reviewed. They include string tension and β-function calculations by strong coupling Hamiltonian methods for SU(3) gauge fields in 3 + 1 dimensions, and a 1/N-expansion for discrete gauge and spin systems in all dimensions. The SU(3) calculations give solid evidence for the coexistence of quark confinement and asymptotic freedom in the renormalized continuum limit of the lattice theory. The crossover between weak and strong coupling behavior in the theory is seen to be a weak coupling but non-perturbative effect. Quantitative relationships between perturbative and non-perturbative renormalization schemes are obtained for the O(N) nonlinear sigma models in 1 + 1 dimensions as well as the range theory in 3 + 1 dimensions. Analysis of the strong coupling expansion of the β-function for gauge fields suggests that it has cuts in the complex 1/g²-plane. A toy model of such a cut structure which naturally explains the abruptness of the theory's crossover from weak to strong coupling is presented. The relation of these cuts to other approaches to gauge field dynamics is discussed briefly.The dynamics underlying first order phase transitions in a wide class of lattice gauge theories is exposed by considering a class of models-P(N) gauge theories - which are soluble in the N → ∞ limit and have non-trivial phase diagrams. The first order character of the phase transitions in Potts spin systems for N #62; 4 in 1 + 1 dimensions is explained in simple terms which generalizes to P(N) gauge systems in higher dimensions. The phase diagram of Ising lattice gauge theory coupled to matter fields is obtained in a $\text{1}\text{N}$ expansion. A one-plaquette model (1 time-0 space dimensions) with a first-order phase transitions in the N → ∞ limit is discussed.     

Dynamical generation of a Coulomb phase in the mean-field approach to Z(N) lattice gauge theories

The phase diagram of Z(N) lattice gauge theories is examined in the mean-field approach. It is shown how large non-perturbative fluctuations around the mean-field may naturally occur in these theories. When this happens, a massless phase which is absent in the mean-field approximation is dynamically generated. An order parameter which characterizes the Coulomb to Higgs phase transition is introduced. The predictions for the values of the critical coupling for this transition are in excellent agreement with the Monte Carlo data in four dimensions.     

Dynamical supersymmetry breaking and gauge anomalies

Some aspects of supersymmetric gauge theories and discussed. It is shown that dynamical supersymmetry breaking does not occur in supersymmetric QED in higher dimensions. The cancellation of both local (perturbative) and global (non-perturbative) gauge anomalies are also discussed in supersymmetric gauge theories. We argue that there is no dynamical supersymmetry breaking in higher dimensions in any supersymmetric gauge theories free of gauge anomalies. It is also shown that for supersymmetric gauge theories in higher dimensions with a compact connected simple gauge group, when the local anomaly-free condition is satisfied, there can be at most a possibleZ ₂ global gauge anomaly in extended supersymmetricSO(10) (or spin (10)) gauge theories inD=10 dimensions containing additional Weyl fermions in a spinor representation ofSO(10) (or spin (10)). In four dimensions with local anomaly-free condition satisfied, the only possible global gauge anomalies in supersymmetric gauge theories areZ ₂ global gauge anomalies for extended supersymmetricSP(2N) (N=rank) gauge theories containing additional Weyl fermions in a representation ofSP(2N) with an odd 2nd-order Dynkin index.     

Complexification of gauge theories

For the case of a first-class constrained system with equivariant momentum map, we study the conditions under which the double process of reducing to the constraint surface and dividing out by the group of gauge transformations G is equivalent to the single process of dividing out the initial phase space by the complexification G_C of G. For the particular case of a phase space action that is the lift of a configuration space action, conditions are found under which, in finite dimensions, the physical phase space of a gauge system with first-class constraints is diffeomorphic to a manifold imbedded in the physical configuration space of the complexified gauge system. Similar conditions are shown to hold for the infinite-dimensional example of Yang-Mills theories. As a physical application we discuss the adequateness of using holomorphic Wilson loop variables as (generalized) global coordinates on the physical phase space of Yang-Mills theory.     

SU(2) gauge symmetry and anomaly of the S = 12 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model in 2 + 1 dimensions

On the basis of the local SU (2) symmetry of the Heisenberg model, we show that the model, in a continuum limit, reduces to a problem of massless fermions coupled to an SU(2) gauge field in three space-time dimensions. The effective gauge field action changes by ± π ⦶ n ⦶ under a large gauge transformation with winding number n. To restore the gauge invariance, a parity- nonconserving, topological term is needed in the effective action. The physical implications are conjectured.     

Critical behavior at finite-temperature confinement transitions

Confinement in a pure gauge theory at non-zero temperature may be discussed in terms of an order parameter which transforms under a global symmetry group, the center of the gauge group. Integrating out all degrees of freedom except this order parameter generates an effective scalar field theory for the order parameter, globally invariant under the center symmetry. We argue that the effective theory possesses only short-range couplings, and hence that the finite-temperature confinement phase transition (when continuous) is accompanied by long-range fluctuations only in the order parameter. Universality ideas then lead to predictions for the critical properties of U(1), Z(N), and SU(N) gauge theories for all dimensionalities of space-time. An explicit renormalization-group calculation is presented for the U(1) gauge theory in (2 + 1) dimensions, the results of which fit the general picture.     

Critical behaviour in random field gauge theory

We study the thermodynamic behaviour of spin and gauge systems in the presence of a quenched external random field. In particular, we show that forZ(2) andSU (2) gauge theory in two space dimensions, the random field destroys the ordered phase and thus leads to a shift in the lower critical dimension, just as found for the corresponding Ising model.     

Monopoles and topological field theory

We present a topological quantum field theory for magnetic monopoles in an SU(N) Yang-Mills-Higgs model. This field theory is obtained by gauge fixing the topological action defining the monopole charge. This work extends to the three-dimensional case the quantization of invariant polynomials in four dimensions. We choose the Bogomolny self-duality equations as gauge conditions for the magnetic monopole topological field theory. In this way the geometrical equation discussed e.g. in Atiyah and Hitchin's work are recovered as ghost equations of motion. We give the cocycles of the corresponding topological symmetry. In the N→∞ limit interesting phenomena occur. The functional integration is forced to cover only the moduli space and the role of the ghosts stemming from the gauge fixing process is to provide a smooth semiclassical approximation.     

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.     

Dimensional regularization of gauge theories in spherical spacetime: Free field trace anomalies

The O(n + 1) covariant formulation of massless quantum electrodynamics in spherical spacetime is further developed to allow a calculation of the energy-momentum tensor trace anomalies for the free Dirac, electromagnetic, and SU(2) gauge fields. The principal technical development is the construction of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts for electrodynamics and SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. This construction is unconventional first in that the gauge fixing term in the Lagrangian is not a perfect square, and second because it is necessary to remove radial as well as gauge degrees of freedom from the measure of the functional integral. The ghost fields are shown to satisfy a minimal scalar field equation. The free field effective action is found to be divergent in four dimensions, and is renormalized by the inclusion in the Lagrangian of a counterterm local in the gravitational fields. The energy-momentum tensor calculated from this renormalized effective action is shown to have a trace anomaly.     

Coleman-Weinberg transition for an Abelian Higgs model on the lattice (mean field calculations with loop corrections)

The mean field method with loop corrections for a gauge-scalar system in Higgs potential on the lattice is presented. Using this method the Coleman-Weinberg transition for the models of Z(2) and U(1) gauge groups in three, four and higher dimensions is studied. Clear evidence of a weakly first-order transition is obtained for the U(1) model in the lower dimension. It is also investigated how this transition is influenced by the strength of gauge and the φ⁴ coupling.