SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in (1 + 1) dimensions: A finite-lattice approach

Finite-lattice methods are used to calculate the masses of the lowest-lying baryon and meson states in the two-dimensional SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. No sign of a phase transition is seen at non-zero quark mass m. Both the meson and baryon mass vanish at m = 0: this is presumably a “chiral protection” mechanism.     

SU(2) Lattice gauge theory in (2+1)D

Cluster expansion methods are applied to theSU(2) lattice gauge model in (2+1) dimensions. Strong-coupling series are calculated for the vacuum energy per site, the axial string tension, and the scalar mass gap; while ELCE approximants are used to estimate the string tension beyond its roughening transition. The simple scaling behaviour expected of this super-renormalizable theory is clearly seen, and we estimate that in the continuum limit the string tension σ～(0.14±0.01)g ⁴, while the mass gapM _s ～(2.2±0.25)g ². More accurate Monte Carlo simulations are needed to check the universality between the Hamiltonian and Euclidean versions of this model.     

Fluctuations in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

The nonlinear differential equation resulting from the use of the ’t Hooft-Corrigan-Fairlie-Wilczek ansatz in SU(2) Yang-Mills gauge theory is solved by the bilinear operator method. The solutions which are singular are interpreted as fluctuations involving no flux transport. However, these objects may play a tunnelling role similar to that of merons.     

Lattice simulation of a center symmetric three-dimensional effective theory for SU(2) Yang-Mills

We perform simulations of an effective theory of SU(2) Wilson lines in three dimensions. Our action includes a kinetic term, the one-loop perturbative potential for the Wilson line, a non-perturbative “fuzzy-bag” contribution and spatial gauge fields. We determine the phase diagram of the theory and confirm that, at moderately weak coupling, the non-perturbative term leads to eigenvalue repulsion in a finite region above the deconfining phase transition.     

't Hooft loop in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

We study the behavior of the spatial and temporal 't Hooft loop at zero and finite temperature in the 4D SU(2) Yang-Mills theory, using a new numerical method. In the deconfined phase T > T(c), the spatial 't Hooft loop exhibits a dual string tension, which vanishes at T(c) with a 3D Ising-like critical exponent.     

Center flux correlation in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

By using the method of center projection, the center vortex part of the gauge field is isolated and its propagator is evaluated in the center Landau gauge, which minimizes the open 3-dimensional Dirac volumes of nontrivial center links bounded by the closed 2-dimensional center vortex surfaces. The center field propagator is found to dominate the gluon propagator (in the Landau gauge) in the low momentum regime and to give rise to a power-law correction proportional to p(-2.9(1)) at high momentum. The screening mass of the center vortex field vanishes above the critical temperature of the deconfinement phase transition, which naturally explains the second order nature of this transition consistent with the vortex picture. Finally, the ghost propagator of the maximal center gauge is found to be infrared finite and, thus, shows that the coset fields play no role for confinement.     

The qualitative behavior of Yang-Mills theory in 2 + 1 dimensions

The SU(2) gauge theory of gluons (no quarks) is studied in two space and one time dimensions. Only qualitative or suggestive discussions are made. Starting from the quantum field equations it is argued that the necessary gauge invariance of the wave functional results, in this non-abelian case, in a finite energy for any excitation (“glueball”) above the ground state. Furthermore, fluctuations in which gauging factors change sign can occur independently in regions adequately separated in space. This results in a potential between distant massive quarks rising linearly with distance (quark confinement). The situation in 3 + 1 dimensions is not discussed.     

The quark-antiquark potential of SU(2) lattice gauge theory in 2+1 dimensions

Within the framework of a hamiltonian formulation of SU($\text{N}$) lattice gauge theory in two spatial dimensions we develop a weak coupling expansion in the static quark-antiquark sector. For SU(2) the quark-antiquark potential is calculated to fourth order. Moreover we extend the former calculation of the energy gap in the gauge invariant sector to general SU($\text{N}$) and extrapolate to the infinite lattice limit from large lattices. Due to the infrared divergence of the weak coupling expansion on infinite lattices the quark-antiquark potential contains a term diverging logarithmically with the lattice expansion. Hence the expansion has to be interpreted as a pseudo-perturbation expansion in the sense of Symanzik.     

Ground state of the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

The problem of the ground state of the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory is investigated within the one-loop approximation. It is shown that an assumed initial constant magnetic field will be diminished to realize a state of lower energy (vacuumI) by a condensation of some components of Yang-Mill fields. We also find a Lorentz invariant state (vaccumII) through a singlet scalar condensation. However, the vaccumI which is Lorentz noinvariant is found to have a lower energy density than the vacuumII.     

O(2) symmetric connections in an SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

The general O(2) symmetric Yang-Mills equations are derived. An ansatz for O(2) symmetric merons is presented and it is shown that any connection in this ansatz will have SU(2) topological charge density which is a sum of delta functions at points in a plane with weights ± 1/2. It is shown that any connection in this ansatz will beC away from these points.National Science Foundation Pre-doctoral FellowSupported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant PHY 77-18762     

Conformal invariance and topological properties in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

Classical solutions of SU(2) Yang-Mills fields in Minkowski space, exhibiting O(4) × O(2) and O(4) invariance are analyzed in the framework of conformally invariant quantum dynamics. A new vacuum structure is obtained.     

Signals of confinement in Green functions of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

It has been well established that the removal of center vortices from SU(2) lattice configurations results in the loss of confinement. The running coupling constant, gluon form factor, and ghost form factor are studied in the Landau gauge for the full and the vortex removed theory. In the latter case, a strong suppression of the running coupling constant and the gluon form factor at low momenta is observed, and the IR singularity of the ghost form factor disappears. Hence, the removal of the vortices generates a theory for which Zwanziger's horizon condition for confinement is no longer satisfied.