Unveiling the flux tube structure in full QCD

TL;DR

This study uses lattice QCD simulations to analyze the structure of the flux tube formed between a static quark-antiquark pair, providing insights into confinement and vacuum properties at physical quark masses.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed lattice QCD characterization of the flux tube profile in full QCD with dynamical fermions at physical masses, including string breaking effects.

Findings

Characterized the spatial profile of the chromoelectric flux tube.

Observed the onset of string breaking at larger quark-antiquark separations.

Compared flux tube results with a disordered chromomagnetic condensate model.

Abstract

We present lattice Monte Carlo results on the chromoelectric field created by a static quark-antiquark pair in the vacuum of QCD with 2+1 dynamical staggered fermions at physical masses. After isolating the nonperturbative, confining part of the field, we characterize its spatial profile for several values of the physical distances between the sources, ranging from about 0.5 fm up to the onset of string breaking. Moreover, we compare our results with a model of QCD vacuum as disordered chromomagnetic condensate.