Features of SU(N) Gauge Theories

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent lattice results on SU(N) gauge theories at large N, covering topics like glueball masses, topology, string tensions, and phase transitions, with implications for phenomenology and beyond Standard Model physics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in lattice studies of SU(N) gauge theories, highlighting new insights into their non-perturbative properties and phase structure.

Findings

Large N limit simplifies gauge theory dynamics.

String tensions vary with representation, informing confinement models.

Finite temperature phase transition characteristics relevant for experiments.

Abstract

We review recent lattice results for the large $N$ limit of SU(N) gauge theories. In particular, we focus on glueball masses, topology and its relation to chiral symmetry breaking (relevant for phenomenology), on the tension of strings connecting sources in higher representations of the gauge group (relevant for models of confinement and as a comparative ground for theories beyond the Standard Model) and on the finite temperature deconfinement phase transition (relevant for RHIC-like experiments). In the final part we present open challenges for the future.