2004/12/08 by A. M. Brzoska, Andrej Brzoska, F. Lenz +4 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions #hep-lat #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.71.034008
published as Phys.Rev.D71:034008,2005 · 9 pages, 3 figures, revtex; v2: 3 references added
arxiv created 2004/12/08 · openalex publication_date 2005/02/07 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A phenomenological analysis of the distribution of Wilson loops in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory is presented in which Wilson loop distributions are described as the result of a diffusion process on the group manifold. It is shown that, in the absence of forces, diffusion implies Casimir scaling and, conversely, exact Casimir scaling implies free diffusion. Screening processes occur if diffusion takes place in a potential. The crucial distinction between screening of fundamental and adjoint loops is formulated as a symmetry property related to the center symmetry of the underlying gauge theory. The results are expressed in terms of an effective Wilson loop action and compared with various limits of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory.