The Hamiltonian approach to Yang–Mills [formula omitted]: Expansion scheme and corrections to string tension

Abstract

We carry out further analysis of the Hamiltonian approach to Yang–Mills theory in 2 + 1 dimensions which helps to place the calculation of the vacuum wave function and the string tension in the context of a systematic expansion scheme. The solution of the Schrödinger equation is carried out recursively. The computation of correlators is re-expressed in terms of a two-dimensional chiral boson theory. The effective action for this theory is calculated to first order in our expansion scheme and to the fourth order in a kinematic expansion parameter. The resulting corrections to the string tension are shown to be very small, in the range −0.3% to −2.8%, moving our prediction closer to the recent lattice estimates.