Center Vortex Model for the Infrared Sector of SU(3) Yang-Mills Theory - Confinement and Deconfinement

TL;DR

This paper extends the center vortex model to SU(3) Yang-Mills theory, successfully capturing confinement, deconfinement transition characteristics, and vortex geometrical structures, aligning with lattice results.

Contribution

The paper introduces a center vortex model for SU(3) Yang-Mills theory, including vortex branchings, and analyzes its implications for confinement and phase transition behaviors.

Findings

Predicts a weak first order deconfinement transition consistent with lattice results.

Reproduces the behavior of spatial string tension in the deconfined phase.

Studies vortex geometrical structures, including new vortex branchings in SU(3).

Abstract

The center vortex model for the infrared sector of Yang-Mills theory, previously studied for the SU(2) gauge group, is extended to SU(3). This model is based on the assumption that vortex world-surfaces can be viewed as random surfaces in Euclidean space-time. The confining properties are investigated, with a particular emphasis on the finite-temperature deconfining phase transition. The model predicts a very weak first order transition, in agreement with SU(3) lattice Yang-Mills theory, and also reproduces a consistent behavior of the spatial string tension in the deconfined phase. The geometrical structure of the center vortices is studied, including vortex branchings, which are a new property of the SU(3) case.