Confining Flux Tube in the Trace Deformed (2+1) Dimensional SU(2) Gauge Theory
Abstract
We study the confining flux tube in the reconfined phase of trace deformed SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in (2+1) dimensions. Using lattice simulations above the standard deconfinement temperature, we analyze Polyakov-loop correlators and extract the ground state energy of the effective string. We show that the usual Nambu-Goto effective string description, including its standard higher-order corrections, fails to reproduce the data as the trace deformation is increased. Remarkably, deep in the reconfined regime the results are instead accurately described by the Polchinski-Yang rigid-string solution, corresponding to an effective string dominated by an extrinsic-curvature term. We further investigate the transverse profile of the chromo-electric flux tube and find significant deviations from the standard Yang-Mills behavior, including a substantial modification of the intrinsic width. Finally, we present an exploratory study of the phase diagram, finding evidence for a transition from a continuous to a first order reconfinement line as the deformation parameter increases. These results suggest that the reconfined phase realizes a qualitatively different effective-string regime from ordinary confinement.
Related
- Confining strings in the reconfined phase of trace deformed three dimensional SU(2) Yang-Mills theory
- AMSB in Truly Confining Gauge Theories
- A different kind of continuum limit for the three-dimensional U(1) gauge theory
- Holographic Krylov complexity in confining gauge theories
- Non-stabilizerness and entanglement in (2+1)-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory using tensor networks
BibTeX
@misc{bonati2026confining,
title = {{Confining Flux Tube in the Trace Deformed (2+1) Dimensional SU(2) Gauge Theory}},
author = {Claudio Bonati and Michele Caselle and Alessio Negro and Dario Panfalone and Lorenzo Verzichelli},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.20270},
eprint = {2606.20270},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.20270},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Confining Flux Tube in the Trace Deformed (2+1) Dimensional SU(2) Gauge Theory
AU - Claudio Bonati
AU - Michele Caselle
AU - Alessio Negro
AU - Dario Panfalone
AU - Lorenzo Verzichelli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.20270
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.20270
AB - We study the confining flux tube in the reconfined phase of trace deformed SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in (2+1) dimensions. Using lattice simulations above the standard deconfinement temperature, we analyze Polyakov-loop correlators and extract the ground state energy of the effective string. We show that the usual Nambu-Goto effective string description, including its standard higher-order corrections, fails to reproduce the data as the trace deformation is increased. Remarkably, deep in the reconfined regime the results are instead accurately described by the Polchinski-Yang rigid-string solution, corresponding to an effective string dominated by an extrinsic-curvature term. We further investigate the transverse profile of the chromo-electric flux tube and find significant deviations from the standard Yang-Mills behavior, including a substantial modification of the intrinsic width. Finally, we present an exploratory study of the phase diagram, finding evidence for a transition from a continuous to a first order reconfinement line as the deformation parameter increases. These results suggest that the reconfined phase realizes a qualitatively different effective-string regime from ordinary confinement.
ER -