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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.00152 |
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| _version_ | 1866908680927051776 |
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| author | Popov, Pavel P. Ballini, Edoardo Bottarelli, Alberto Burrello, Michele Silvi, Pietro Wauters, Matteo M. Hauke, Philipp |
| author_facet | Popov, Pavel P. Ballini, Edoardo Bottarelli, Alberto Burrello, Michele Silvi, Pietro Wauters, Matteo M. Hauke, Philipp |
| contents | Confinement is one of the hallmarks of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Yet, its first-principle characterization, even in simpler models, remains elusive. Through a combination of group-theoretical arguments and numerical analysis, we show that the physical consequences of confinement in a class of discrete non-Abelian lattice gauge theories (LGTs), the dihedral groups $D_N$, are intimately connected with the presence of a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ central subgroup. When the center is trivial (for odd $N$), static charges are screened by a gluon cloud, forming composite objects known in SU$(N)$ gauge theories as gluelumps. This finding implies that string breaking can occur through fluctuations of the electric field only, without the need to nucleate particle--antiparticle pairs from the vacuum. Furthermore, numerical analysis hints at finite-range interactions between the gluelumps in the continuum limit.
Our results showcase how the rich and intricate physics typically associated with QCD can emerge in much simpler discrete non-Abelian LGTs, making them ideal settings to test this phenomenology both in numerical calculations and in near-term quantum devices. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_00152 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | When the center matters: color screening and gluelumps in dihedral lattice gauge theories Popov, Pavel P. Ballini, Edoardo Bottarelli, Alberto Burrello, Michele Silvi, Pietro Wauters, Matteo M. Hauke, Philipp High Energy Physics - Lattice Quantum Physics Confinement is one of the hallmarks of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Yet, its first-principle characterization, even in simpler models, remains elusive. Through a combination of group-theoretical arguments and numerical analysis, we show that the physical consequences of confinement in a class of discrete non-Abelian lattice gauge theories (LGTs), the dihedral groups $D_N$, are intimately connected with the presence of a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ central subgroup. When the center is trivial (for odd $N$), static charges are screened by a gluon cloud, forming composite objects known in SU$(N)$ gauge theories as gluelumps. This finding implies that string breaking can occur through fluctuations of the electric field only, without the need to nucleate particle--antiparticle pairs from the vacuum. Furthermore, numerical analysis hints at finite-range interactions between the gluelumps in the continuum limit. Our results showcase how the rich and intricate physics typically associated with QCD can emerge in much simpler discrete non-Abelian LGTs, making them ideal settings to test this phenomenology both in numerical calculations and in near-term quantum devices. |
| title | When the center matters: color screening and gluelumps in dihedral lattice gauge theories |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Lattice Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.00152 |