Maximal Center Gauge Research Articles

Investigation of the ensemble of maximal center gauge

The maximal center gauge aims to detect center vortices by maximizing a gauge functional and then projecting onto the center elements of the respective group. The requirement for unrestricted maximization of the gauge functional has proven to be untenable because it was shown that it leads to an underestimation of the string tension. To counter this problem, the ensemble of local gauge maxima is investigated and it is found that the unrestricted maximization can be replaced by a maximization restricted to the Gaussian distributed part of the ensemble. Such restricted maximization weakens the problem of an underestimated string tension. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

A First Analysis of the Ensemble of Local Maxima of Maximal Center Gauge

Maximal center gauge (MCG) aims to detect some of the most important vacuum configurations, suggesting thick magnetic flux tubes quantized to non-trivial center elements of the gauge group being responsible for confinement. Due to the NP-hardness of a global maximization of the gauge functional only numeric procedures aiming for local maxima are possible. We observe a linear decrease in the string tension with increasing gauge functional value of the local maxima. This implies that the request to get as close as possible to the absolute maximum is unattainable. We compare global properties of the ensemble of local maxima with other methods to detect center vortices and with determinations of the string tension from full configurations. This comparison indicates that the information about the number and positions of center vortices is contained in the structure of the ensemble of local maxima. This may pave the way for a future more successful formulation of the gauge condition.

Direct and indirect methods of vortex identification in continuum limit

Inspired by the Direct and Indirect maximal center gauge methods which identify vortices in lattice calculations, and by using connection formalism, we show that under some appropriate gauge transformations, vortices and chains appear in the continuum limit of QCD vacuum.

Introducing vortices in the continuum using direct and indirect methods

Inspired by direct and indirect maximal center gauge methods which confirm the existence of vortices in lattice calculations and by using the connection formalism, we show that under some appropriate gauge transformations vortices and chains appear in the QCD vacuum of the continuum limit. In the direct method, by applying center gauge transformation and ``center projection,'' QCD is reduced to a gauge theory including vortices, which corresponds to the nontrivial first homotopy group ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}}_{1}(\mathrm{SO}(3))={Z}_{2}$. On the other hand, using the indirect method, in addition to the center gauge transformation and center projection, an initial step called Abelian gauge transformation and then Abelian projection are applied. Therefore, instead of single vortices, chains that contain monopoles and vortices appear in the theory.

New Abelian-like monopoles and the dual Meissner effect

Violation of non-Abelian Bianchi identity can be regarded as $N^2-1$ Abelian-like monopole currents in the continuum SU(N) QCD. Three Abelian-like monopoles, when defined in SU(2) gluodynamics on the lattice \`{a} la DeGrand-Toussaint, are shown to have the continuum limit with respect to the color-invariant monopole density and the effective monopole action. Since each Abelian-like monopole is not gauge invariant, we have introduced various partial gauge fixing for the purpose of reducing lattice artifact monopoles in the thermalized vacuum. Here we investigate Abelian and monopole dominances and the Abelian dual Meissner effects adopting the same gauges like the maximal center gauge (MCG) in comparison with the maximal Abelian gauge (MAG). Abelian and monopole contributions to the string tension in these gauges are observed to be a little smaller than the non-Abelian string tension. However, we find that the monopole dominance is improved well when use is made of the block-spin transformations with respect to Abelian-like monopoles. We find each electric field is squeezed by the corresponding colored Abelian-like monopole in such gauges and the Abelian dual Meissner effect is observed independently for each color. Moreover, we confirm the dual Amp\`{e}re's law in these new gauges as well as in MAG. The SU(2) vacuum is shown to be near the border between the type 1 and type 2 dual superconductors. The penetration length is almost equal for the four gauge fixings and the vacuum type in MCG is almost the same value as the previous results. These results are consistent with the previous results suggesting the continuum limit and the gauge-independence of Abelian monopoles.

The Road to Solving the Gribov Problem of the Center Vortex Model in Quantum Chromodynamics

The center vortex model of the QCD vacuum is very successful in explaining the non-perturbative properties of QCD, especially confinement, chiral symmetry breaking and the topological charge of vacuum configurations. On the other hand, the center vortex model still suffers from a Gribov problem: Direct maximal center gauge and center projection can lead to an underestimation of the string tension in smooth configurations or after persistent simulated annealing. We discuss methods to identify center regions, whose boundaries evaluate to center elements, and want to improve the vortex detection: these regions might help to recognize vortices in configurations where maximal center gauge lost the vortex finding property.

Improving Center Vortex Detection by Usage of Center Regions as Guidance for the Direct Maximal Center Gauge

The center vortex model of quantum chromodynamic states that vortices, a closed color-magnetic flux, percolate the vacuum. Vortices are seen as the relevant excitations of the vacuum, causing confinement and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. In an appropriate gauge, as direct maximal center gauge, vortices are detected by projecting onto the center degrees of freedom. Such gauges suffer from Gribov copy problems: different local maxima of the corresponding gauge functional can result in different predictions of the string tension. By using nontrivial center regions—that is, regions whose boundary evaluates to a nontrivial center element—a resolution of this issue seems possible. We use such nontrivial center regions to guide simulated annealing procedures, preventing an underestimation of the string tension in order to resolve the Gribov copy problem.

Branching of center vortices in SU(3) lattice gauge theory

We analyze the branching of center vortices in SU(3) Yang-Mills theory in maximal center gauge. When properly normalized, we can define a branching probability that turns out to be independent of the lattice spacing (in the limited scaling window studied here). The branching probability shows a rapid change at the deconfinement phase transition, which is much more pronounced in space slices of the lattice as compared to time slices. Though not a strict order parameter (in the sense that it vanishes in one phase) the branching probability is thus found to be a reliable indicator for both the location of the critical temperature and the geometric rearrangement of vortex matter across the deconfinement phase transition.

New scheme for color confinement and violation of the non-Abelian Bianchi identities

A new scheme for color confinement in QCD due to violation of the non-Abelian Bianchi identities proposed earlier is revised. The violation of the non-Abelian Bianchi identities (VNABI) $J_{\mu}$ is equal to Abelian-like monopole currents $k_{\mu}$ defined by the violation of the Abelian-like Bianchi identities. VNABI satisfies $\partial_{\mu}J_{\mu}=0$. There are $N^2-1$ conserved magnetic charges in $SU(N)$ QCD. The charge of each component of VNABI is assumed to satisfy the Dirac quantization condition. %%%%% Each color component of the non-Abelian electric field $E^a$ is squeezed by the corresponding color component of the solenoidal current $J^a_{\mu}$. Then only the color singlets alone can survive as a physical state and non-Abelian color confinement is realized. Numerical studies are done in the framework of $SU(2)$ lattice gauge theory. We adopt an Abelian-like definition of monopole following DeGrand-Toussaint as a lattice version of VNABI. To reduce severe lattice artifacts, we introduce various techniques of smoothing the thermalized vacuum such as the maximal center gauge (MCG) fixing. We measure the density $\rho(a(\beta),n)=\sqrt{(k_n^1)^2+(k_n^2)^2+(k_n^3)^2}/(4\sqrt{4}Vb^3)$, where $k_n^a$ is an $n$ blocked monopole in the color direction $a$ and $b=na(\beta)$ is the blocked lattice spacing. Beautiful scaling behaviors are seen when we plot $\rho(a(\beta),n)$ versus $b=na(\beta)$. A single universal curve $\rho(b)$ is found from $n=1\sim 12$, which suggests that $\rho(a(\beta),n)$ is a function of $b=na(\beta)$ alone. The universal curve seems independent of a gauge fixing procedure used to smooth the lattice vacuum when the scaling is obtained. The scaling shows that the lattice definition of VNABI has the continuum limit.

Preconditioning maximal center gauge with stout link smearing inSU(3)

Center vortices are studied in SU(3) gauge theory using Maximal Center Gauge (MCG) fixing. Stout link smearing and over-improved stout link smearing are used to construct a preconditioning gauge field transformation, applied to the original gauge field before fixing to MCG. We find that preconditioning successfully achieves higher gauge fixing maxima. We observe a reduction in the number of identified vortices when preconditioning is used, and also a reduction in the vortex-only string tension.

Vortex structure ofSU(2)calorons

We reveal the center vortex content of SU(2) calorons and ensembles of them. We use Laplacian Center Gauge as well as Maximal Center Gauges to show that the vortex in a single caloron consists of two parts. The first one connects the constituent dyons of the caloron (which are monopoles in Laplacian Abelian Gauge) and extends in time. The second part is predominantly spatial, encloses one of the dyons and can be related to the twist in the caloron gauge field. This part depends strongly on the caloron holonomy and degenerates to a plane when the holonomy is maximally nontrivial, i.e. when the asymptotic Polyakov loop is traceless. Correspondingly, we find the spatial vortices in caloron ensembles to percolate in this case. This finding fits perfectly in the confinement scenario of vortices and shows that calorons are suitable to facilitate the vortex confinement mechanism.

Center Flux Correlation in SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory

By using the method of center projection, the center vortex part of the gauge field is isolated and its propagator is evaluated in the center Landau gauge, which minimizes the open 3-dimensional Dirac volumes of nontrivial center links bounded by the closed 2-dimensional center vortex surfaces. The center field propagator is found to dominate the gluon propagator (in the Landau gauge) in the low momentum regime and to give rise to a power-law correction proportional to p(-2.9(1)) at high momentum. The screening mass of the center vortex field vanishes above the critical temperature of the deconfinement phase transition, which naturally explains the second order nature of this transition consistent with the vortex picture. Finally, the ghost propagator of the maximal center gauge is found to be infrared finite and, thus, shows that the coset fields play no role for confinement.

The maximal abelian gauge, monopoles, and vortices in SU(3) lattice gauge theory

We report on calculations of the heavy quark potential in SU(3) lattice gauge theory. Full SU(3) results are compared to three cases which involve gauge-fixing and projection. All of these start from the maximal abelian gauge (MAG), in its simplest form. The first case is abelian projection to U(1)× U(1). The second keeps only the abelian fields of monopoles in the MAG. The third involves an additional gauge-fixing to the indirect maximal center gauge (IMCG), followed by center projection to Z(3). At one gauge fixing/configuration, the string tensions calculated from MAG U(1)× U(1), MAG monopoles, and IMCG Z(3) are all less than the full SU(3) string tension. The projected string tensions further decrease, by approximately 10%, when account is taken of gauge ambiguities. Comparison is made with corresponding results for SU(2). It is emphasized that the formulation of the MAG is more subtle for SU(3) than for SU(2), and that the low string tensions may be caused by the simple MAG form used. A generalized MAG for SU(3) is formulated.

Center dominance recovered: Direct Laplacian center gauge

We introduce a variation of direct maximal center gauge fixing: the “direct Laplacian” center gauge. The new procedure consists of first fixing to the Laplacian adjoint Landau gauge, followed by overrelaxation to the nearby Gribov copy of the direct maximal center gauge. Certain shortcomings of maximal center gauge, associated with Gribov copies, are overcome in the new gauge, in particular center dominance is recovered.

Gluon propagator and quark confinement

The gluon propagator is investigated in Landau and in maximal center gauge for the gauge group SU(2) by means of lattice gauge simulations. We find that Gribov ambiguities arising from the implementation of Landau gauge have a small influence on the propagator. In agreement with previous findings, we obtain that the small momentum behavior is dominated by a mass, which is of order (1.48±0.05) σ , where σ is the string tension. By removing the confining vortices from the full Yang–Mills ensemble, we convert full YM-theory into a theory which does not confine quarks. We find that in the latter case the strength of the gluon propagator in the intermediate momentum range is strongly reduced. The spectral functions which reproduce the numerical data for the propagators are analyzed using a generalized Maximum Entropy Method.

Direct Laplacian Center Gauge

We introduce a variation of direct maximal center gauge fixing: the ``direct Laplacian'' center gauge. The new procedure overcomes certain shortcomings of maximal center gauge, associated with Gribov copies, that were pointed out by Bornyakov et al. in hep-lat/0009035.

Topological susceptibility of Yang-Mills center projection vortices

The topological susceptibility induced by center projection vortices extracted from SU(2) lattice Yang-Mills configurations via the maximal center gauge is measured. Two different smoothing procedures, designed to eliminate spurious ultraviolet fluctuations of these vortices before evaluating the topological charge, are explored. They result in consistent estimates of the topological susceptibility carried by the physical thick vortices characterizing the Yang-Mills vacuum in the vortex picture. This susceptibility is comparable to the one obtained from the full lattice Yang-Mills configurations. The topological properties of the SU(2) Yang-Mills vacuum can thus be accounted for in terms of its vortex content.

Gauge invariant Z(2) vortex vacuum textures and the SU(2) gluon condensate

For SU(2) lattice gauge theory, a new SO(3) cooling procedure is proposed which removes the SU(2)/Z(2) coset fields from the lattice configurations and reveals a Z(2) vortex vacuum texture different from the P-vortex content obtained in the maximal center gauge. Cooling can be restricted in a renormalization group invariant way by a parameter controlling the remaining SO(3) action density. A gauge invariant Z(2) vortex vacuum emerges asymptotically if cooling is not restricted. This ``vortex texture'' does not support the string tension or a finite part of it. The SU(2) action density associated with the new Z(2) vortex texture has a smooth extrapolation to the continuum limit. We propose an interpretation as a mass dimension four condensate related to the gluon condensate featuring in the operator product expansion.

Remarks on the Gribov problem in the direct maximal center gauge

We review the equivalence of maximal center gauge fixing to the problem of finding the best fit, to a given lattice gauge field, by a thin vortex configuration. This fit is necessarily worst at the location of P plaquettes. We then compare the fits achieved in Gribov copies generated by (i) over-relaxation, (ii) over-relaxation after Landau gauge preconditioning, and (iii) simulated annealing. Simulated annealing yields the best fit if all links on the lattice are included but the situation changes if we consider only the lattice volume exterior to P plaquettes. In this exterior region, the fit is best for Gribov copies generated by over-relaxation, and worst for Gribov copies generated after Landau gauge preconditioning. The two fitting criteria (including or not including the P plaquettes) yield string tensions differing by $\ensuremath{-}34%$ to $+20%,$ respectively, relative to the full string tension. Our usual procedure (``quenched minimization'') seems to be a compromise between these criteria, and yields string tensions at an intermediate value close to the full string tension.

Center vortex properties in the Laplace-center gauge of SU(2) Yang–Mills theory

Resorting to the the Laplace center gauge (LCG) and to the Maximal-center gauge (MCG), respectively, confining vortices are defined by center projection in either case. Vortex properties are investigated in the continuum limit of SU(2) lattice gauge theory. The vortex (area) density and the density of vortex crossing points are investigated. In the case of MCG, both densities are physical quantities in the continuum limit. By contrast, in the LCG the piercing as well as the crossing points lie dense in the continuum limit. In both cases, an approximate treatment by means of a weakly interacting vortex gas is not appropriate.