A numerical study of confinement in compact QED

TL;DR

This paper numerically investigates confinement in four-dimensional compact U(1) lattice gauge theory, analyzing interquark potential, electric fields, and comparing results with theoretical models at various temperatures.

Contribution

It introduces an efficient duality-based algorithm to study confinement phenomena in compact QED, including finite temperature effects and comparisons with theoretical models.

Findings

Numerical results support the effective string model predictions.

Electric field profiles align with dual superconductor scenario.

Confinement characteristics are confirmed at both zero and finite temperatures.

Abstract

Compact U(1) lattice gauge theory in four dimensions is studied by means of an efficient algorithm which exploits the duality transformation properties of the model. We focus our attention onto the confining regime, considering the interquark potential and force, and the electric field induced by two infinitely heavy sources. We consider both the zero and finite temperature setting, and compare the theoretical predictions derived from the effective string model and the dual superconductor scenario to the numerical results.