Screening and Deconfinement of Sources in Finite Temperature SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory

TL;DR

This paper investigates deconfinement and screening phenomena of sources in finite-temperature SU(2) lattice gauge theory using analytical and numerical methods, highlighting the behavior of Polyakov lines and critical phenomena in various limits.

Contribution

It introduces an efficient Monte Carlo simulation for the effective Polyakov-line action and compares results with mean-field solutions, revealing singular behavior in the large-dimension limit.

Findings

Monte Carlo results agree with mean-field solutions.

Higher-representation Polyakov lines vanish at strong coupling in the large-dimension limit.

Critical exponents vary for different representations in the large-dimension limit.

Abstract

Deconfinement and screening of higher-representation sources in finite-temperature $SU(2)$ lattice gauge theory is investigated by both analytical and numerical means. The effective Polyakov-line action at strong coupling is simulated by an efficient cluster-updating Monte Carlo algorithm for the case of $d\!=\!4$ dimensions. The results compare very favourably with an improved mean-field solution. The limit $d\!\to\!\infty$ of the $SU(2)$ theory is shown to be highly singular as far as critical behaviour is concerned. In that limit the leading amplitudes of higher representation Polyakov lines vanish at strong coupling, and subleading exponents become dominant. Each of the higher-representation sources then effectively carry with them their own critical exponents.