Total source charge and charge screening in Yang-Mills theories.

Abstract

New gauge-invariant definitions for the total charge on a static Yang-Mills source are suggested which we argue are better suited for determining when true color screening has occurred. In particular, these new definitions imply that the Abelian Coulomb solution for a simple ``electric'' dipole source made up of two opposite point charges has zero total source charge and therefore no color screening. With the definition of total source charge previously suggested by other authors, such a source would have a total source charge of 2q and therefore a screening charge in the field of -2q, where q is the magnitude of the charge of either point charge. Our definitions for more general solutions are not unique because of the path dependence of the parallel transport of charges. Suggestions for removing this ambiguity are offered, but it is not known if a unique, physically meaningful definition of total source charge in fact exists.