2024/01/09 by Mendel Nguyen, Nguyen, Mendel, Tin Sulejmanpašić +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2401.04800
We analyze the phases of theories which only have a microscopic ℤN 1-form symmetry, starting with a topological BF theory and deforming it in accordance with microscopic symmetry. These theories have a well-defined notion of confinement. Prototypical examples are pure SU(N) gauge theories and ℤN lattice gauge theories. Our analysis shows that the only generic phases are in d=2, only the confined phase; in d=3, both the confined phase and the topological BF phase; and in d=4, the confined phase, the topological BF phase, and a phase with a massless photon. We construct a ℤN lattice gauge theory with a deformation which, surprisingly, produces up to (N-1) photons. We give an interpretation of these findings in terms of two competing pictures of confinement -- proliferation of monopoles and proliferation of center vortices -- and conclude that the proliferation of center vortices is a necessary but insufficient condition for confinement, while that of monopoles is both necessary and sufficient.