Complete Wetting in Supersymmetric QCD: Why QCD Strings Can End on Domain Walls

Abstract

As argued by Witten on the basis of M theory, QCD strings can end on domain walls. We present an explanation of this effect in the framework of effective field theories for the Polyakov loop and the gluino condensate in $N\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1$ supersymmetric QCD. The domain walls separating confined phases with different values of the gluino condensate are completely wet by a layer of deconfined phase at the high-temperature phase transition. As a consequence, even at low temperatures, the Polyakov loop has a nonvanishing expectation value on the domain wall. Thus, close to the wall, the free energy of a static quark is finite and the string emanating from it can end on the wall.