The decay of unstable k-strings in SU(N) gauge theories at zero and finite temperature

Abstract

Sources in higher representations of SU(N) gauge theory at T=0 couple with apparently stable strings with tensions depending on the specific representation rather than on its N-ality. Similarly at the deconfining temperature these sources carry their own representation-dependent critical exponents. It is pointed out that in some instances one can evaluate exactly these exponents by fully exploiting the correspondence between the 2+1 dimensional critical gauge theory and the 2d conformal field theory in the same universality class. The emerging functional form of the Polyakov-line correlators suggests a similar form for Wilson loops in higher representations which helps in understanding the behaviour of unstable strings at T=0. A generalised Wilson loop in which along part of its trajectory a source is converted in a gauge invariant way into higher representations with same N-ality could be used as a tool to estimate the decay scale of the unstable strings.

arXiv comment18 pages, 4 figures v2: typos corrected

References in corpus (34)

• Observation of String Breaking in QCD
• Quark-Gluon Plasma as a Condensate of Z(3) Wilson Lines
• Dynamics of $SU(N)$ Supersymmetric Gauge Theory
• Casimir scaling of SU(3) static potentials
• Glueballs and k-strings in SU(N) gauge theories : calculations with improved operators
• Confinement and Strings in MQCD
• Confining strings in SU(N) gauge theories
• Static SU(3) potentials for sources in various representations
• String Breaking in Non-Abelian Gauge Theories with Fundamental Matter Fields
• On String Tensions in Supersymmetric SU(M) Gauge Theory
• Spectrum of confining strings in SU(N) gauge theories
• String breaking in SU(2) gauge theory with scalar matter fields
• Observing string breaking with Wilson loops
• k-string tensions in SU(N) gauge theories
• Remarks on Stable and Quasi-stable k-Strings at Large N
• Adjoint string breaking in 4d SU(2) Yang-Mills theory
• String Breaking in SU(2) Yang Mills Theory with Adjoint Sources
• ``GLUELUMP'' SPECTRUM AND ADJOINT SOURCE POTENTIAL IN LATTICE QCD${}_3$
• Breaking of the adjoint string in 2+1 dimensions
• String Breaking as a Mixing Phenomenon in the SU(2) Higgs Model
• Completeness of boundary conditions for the critical three-state Potts model
• The Svetitsky-Yaffe conjecture for the plaquette operator
• Confining strings in representations with common $n$-ality
• Deconfinement transition in 2+1-dimensional SU(4) lattice gauge theory
• Adjoint "quarks" on coarse anisotropic lattices: Implications for string breaking in full QCD
• Casimir Scaling in SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory
• Overlap of the Wilson loop with the broken-string state
• The confining string and its breaking in QCD
• Screening and Deconfinement of Sources in Finite Temperature SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory
• Monopole clusters, center vortices, and confinement in a Z(2) gauge-Higgs system
• Adjoint Wilson Line in SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory
• Adiabatic surfaces from the lattice: excited gluonic potentials
• When QCD strings can break
• N-ality and topology at finite temperature

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Quantum broadening of k-strings in gauge theories
• From Decay to Complete Breaking: Pulling the Strings in SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory
• Universality of k-string Tensions from Holography and the Lattice
• Casimir Scaling in SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory
• On the representation (in)dependence of $k$-strings in pure Yang-Mills theory via supersymmetry
• k-strings and baryon vertices in SU(N) gauge theories
• The conformal anomaly of k-strings
• The functional form of open Wilson lines in gauge theories coupled to matter
• Screening of sources in higher representations of SU(N) gauge theories at zero and finite temperature
• K-string tensions at finite temperature and integrable models
• Critical exponents for higher-representation sources in 3D SU(3) gauge theory from CFT