The closed string spectrum of SU(N) gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions

TL;DR

This study uses lattice techniques to analyze the closed-string spectrum in SU(N) gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions, providing evidence for the Nambu-Goto string universality class and insights into string behavior at various scales.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed lattice calculation of the closed-string spectrum in 2+1D SU(N) gauge theories, confirming the Nambu-Goto universality class and exploring string corrections at different scales.

Findings

Closed-strings are in the universality class of the Nambu-Goto free bosonic string.

Data can be described by a covariant string theory with small/moderate corrections.

Evidence suggests the string description holds down to very short distances, especially at large N.

Abstract

We use lattice techniques to study the closed-string spectrum of SU(N) gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions. We calculate the energies of the lowest lying ~30 states for strings with lengths between l ~ 0.45 fm and l ~ 3 fm, and compare to different theoretical predictions. We obtain unambiguous evidence that the closed-strings are in the universality class of the Nambu-Goto free bosonic string. Moreover, we clearly see that our data can be described by a covariant string theory with a small/moderate correction down to very short distance scales, and possibly on all distance scales at large-N.