Chasing electric flux in hot QCD

TL;DR

This paper reviews efforts to understand the spatial 't Hooft loop as an order parameter for deconfinement in pure SU(N) gauge theory, highlighting universal lattice results and the need for refined analytic models.

Contribution

It discusses the current status of analyzing the spatial 't Hooft loop and its role as an order parameter, emphasizing the universality observed in lattice data and the challenges in analytic descriptions.

Findings

Lattice data show universal scaling of k-string tensions across N and k.

Analytic approaches to the 't Hooft loop may require refinement.

The 't Hooft loop is a promising order parameter for deconfinement.

Abstract

In this talk, I present the status of attempts to analyze the behavior of the so-called spatial 't Hooft loop, which can be taken as an order parameter for the deconfinement phase transition in pure SU(N) gauge theory. While lattice data show a strikingly universal scaling of extracted k-string tensions for various values of k and N, the analytic approach to these observables might need some refinement.