Gauge invariant structures and Confinement

TL;DR

This paper investigates the nature of peaks in the action density of cooled SU(2) gauge configurations, suggesting they are instanton-like and relate to confinement properties.

Contribution

It provides evidence that peaks in cooled lattice configurations are instanton-like and links their behavior to changes in the string tension.

Findings

Peaks are of instanton-like nature.

Number of peaks correlates with string tension drop.

Cooling affects the gauge vacuum structure.

Abstract

By looking at cooled configurations on the lattice, we study the presence of peaks in the action density, or its electric and magnetic components, in the SU(2) gauge vacuum. The peaks are seen to be of instanton-like nature and their number variation takes care of the drop in the string tension observed when cooling. Possible explanations of this finding are analysed.