Effective Z(2) Spin Models of Deconfinement and Percolation in SU(2) Gauge Theory

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that simple Z(2) spin models can effectively replicate the critical behavior of SU(2) gauge theory at finite temperature, providing an intuitive and computationally accessible framework.

Contribution

It introduces Z(2) spin models as effective theories for SU(2) gauge theory and shows they accurately reproduce its critical and percolation phenomena.

Findings

Z(2) spin models approximate SU(2) critical behavior

Models successfully describe Polyakov loop percolation

Reproduction of thermal critical behavior in simulations

Abstract

Effective theories are helpful tools to gain an intuitive insight into phenomena governed by complex laws. In this work we show by means of Monte Carlo simulations that Z(2) spin models with only spin-spin interactions approximate rather well the critical behavior of SU(2) gauge theory at finite temperature. These models are then used to formulate an effective description of Polyakov loop percolation, which is shown to reproduce the thermal critical behaviour of SU(2) gauge theory.