Flux tubes in $N_f=2+1$ QCD with external magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper investigates how external magnetic fields induce anisotropies in the confining flux tube in $N_f=2+1$ QCD, revealing the magnetic field's impact on confinement properties at the physical point.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of flux tube behavior under magnetic fields in $N_f=2+1$ QCD using improved lattice actions, highlighting anisotropic effects.

Findings

Flux tubes exhibit anisotropy depending on magnetic field direction.

The anisotropy pattern aligns with previous static quark-antiquark potential results.

Magnetic fields influence confinement properties in QCD.

Abstract

We study the behavior of the confining flux tube in $N_f=2+1$ QCD at the physical point, discretized with the stout smearing improved staggered quark action and the tree level Symanzik gauge action. We discuss how it depends on a uniform external magnetic field, showing how it displays anisotropies with respect to the magnetic field direction. Moreover, we compare the observed anisotropy pattern with that of the static quark-antiquark potential we obtained in our previous works.