Improving center vortex detection by usage of center regions as guidance for the direct maximal center gauge

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new method for detecting center vortices in quantum chromodynamics by using center regions as guidance during gauge fixing, aiming to address the Gribov copy problem and improve string tension estimation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach that employs non-trivial center regions to guide gauge fixing, reducing Gribov copy issues in vortex detection.

Findings

Improved vortex detection accuracy.

More consistent string tension measurements.

Reduced Gribov copy effects.

Abstract

The center vortex model of quantum chromodynamic states that vortices, closed color-magnetic flux, percolate the vacuum. Vortices are seen as the relevant excitations of the vacuum, causing confinement and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. In an appropriate gauge, as \textit{direct maximal center gauge}, vortices are detected by projecting onto the center degrees of freedom. Such gauges suffer from Gribov copy problems: different local maxima of the corresponding gauge functional can result in different predictions of the string tension. By using non-trivial center regions, that is, regions whose boundary evaluates to a non-trivial center element, a resolution of this issue seems possible. We use such non-trivial center regions to guide simulated annealing procedures, preventing an underestimation of the string tension in order to resolve the Gribov copy problem.