Half-integer topological charges below and above the deconfinement transition?

TL;DR

This paper investigates classical solutions with non-trivial holonomy in SU(2) lattice gauge theory at finite temperature, revealing different topological objects and their frequencies across confinement and deconfinement phases.

Contribution

It identifies and characterizes classical solutions with non-trivial holonomy, including dissociated BPS monopole pairs, across different phases of the theory.

Findings

Different topological objects are observed in confinement and deconfinement phases.

Dissociated BPS monopole pairs are identified in the configurations.

The relative frequency of these objects varies with the phase.

Abstract

For pure SU(2) lattice gauge theory at finite T, by the help of the cooling method, we search for classical (approximate) solutions having non-trivial holonomy at the spatial boundary. We identify various typical objects and provide their relative frequency of occurence for the confinement and deconfinement phases. Among the configurations obtained we see also the dissociated BPS monopole pairs recently discussed by van Baal and collaborators.