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Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk, 1995, Volume 165, Number 6, Pages 627–644
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3367/UFNr.0165.199506b.0627
(Mi ufn1084)
 

This article is cited in 14 scientific papers (total in 14 papers)

REVIEWS OF TOPICAL PROBLEMS

Fractals, topological defects, and confinement in lattice gauge theories

M. I. Polikarpov

State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation - Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow
Abstract: Topological defects — monopoles, vortices, and strings — are discussed. It is shown that these objects form clusters with a nonintegral dimension, i.e., they are fractals. The fractal dimension reflects the physical properties of a system. In particular, studies of monopole current clusters in U(1) and SU(2) lattice gauge theories make it possible to identify the confinement mechanism. In the confinement phase the current lines of a magnetic monopole form a percolating cluster and these lines are so dense that their dimension exceeds unity, whereas in the deconfinement phase their dimension is trivial: it is equal to unity. It is also shown that the string tension is proportional to the dimension of extended monopole currents. This is in agreement with a confinement model based on the condensation of magnetic monopoles into a superconducting phase. A string between a quark and an antiquark is then analogous to an Abrikosov vortex in a superconductor. An account is given of the application of the theory of fractals in the problem of gauge fixing in lattice gauge theories. It is also demonstrated that, in SU(2) gluodynamics, domains of the deconfinement phase have a nonintegral dimension near a phase transition point. Apart from monopoles, the review deals also with the properties of vortex and string clusters in three-dimensional and four-dimensional XY models. The corresponding physical objects are vortices in liquid helium and 'global cosmic strings'.
Received: May 1, 1995
English version:
Physics–Uspekhi, 1995, Volume 38, Issue 6, Pages 591–607
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1070/PU1995v038n06ABEH000090
Bibliographic databases:
Document Type: Article
PACS: 11.15.Ha, 14.80.Hv, 74.20.De, 64.40.-w
Language: Russian


Citation: M. I. Polikarpov, “Fractals, topological defects, and confinement in lattice gauge theories”, UFN, 165:6 (1995), 627–644; Phys. Usp., 38:6 (1995), 591–607
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  • This publication is cited in the following 14 articles:
    Citing articles in Google Scholar: Russian citations, English citations
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