The importance of center vortices for the understanding of the confining properties of SU(N) Yang-Mills theories is well established in the lattice. However, in the continuum, there is a problem concerning the relevance of center vortex backgrounds. They display the so called Savvidy-Nielsen-Olesen instability, associated with a gyromagnetic ratio $g^{(b)}_m=2$ for the off-diagonal gluons.
In this work, we initially consider the usual definition of a {\it thin} center vortex and rewrite it in terms of a local color frame in SU(N) Yang-Mills theories. Then, we define a thick center vortex as a diagonal deformation of the thin object. Besides the usual thick background profile, this deformation also contains a frame defect coupled with gyromagnetic ratio $g^{(d)}_m=1$, originated from the charged sector. As a consequence, the analysis of stability is modified. In particular, we point out that the defect should stabilize a vortex configuration formed by a pair of straight components separated by an appropriate finite distance.
We argue that in the infrared regime of continuum Yang-Mills theory, the possibility of a mass gap in the charged sector is closely associated with the center vortex sector. The analysis of the possible consequences of the ensembles of defects is done by showing that the description of center vortices and monopoles is naturally unified by means of a careful treatment of Cho decomposition. If on the one hand confinement is usually associated with monopole condensation in a compact abelian model, in this scenario, the previous decoupling of the off-diagonal degrees of freedom, for the abelian mo…
The coupling to gravity in D=5 spacetime dimensions is considered for the particle-like and vortex-type solutions obtained by uplifting the D=4 Yang-Mills instantons and D=3 Yang-Mills-Higgs monopoles. It turns out that the particles become completely destroyed by gravity, while the vortices admit a rich spectrum of gravitating generalizations. Such vortex defects may be interesting in view of the AdS/CFT correspondence or in the context of the brane world scenario.
The properties of center vortices are discussed within continuum Yang-Mills theory. By starting from the lattice theory and carefully performing the continuum limit the gauge potential of center vortices is obtained and the continuum analog of the maximal center gauge fixing is extracted. It is shown, that the Pontryagin index of center vortices is given by their self-intersection number, which vanishes unless the center vortices host magnetic monpoles, which make the vortex sheets non-oriented.
We study BPS vortex configurations in three dimensional U(N) Yang-Mills theories with Chern-Simons interaction coupled to scalar fields carrying flavor. We consider two kind of configurations: local vortices (when the number of flavors $N_f=N$), and semi-local vortices (when $N_f>N$). In both cases we carefully analyze the electric and magnetic properties and present explicit numerical solutions.
We discuss the implementation of the ``direct'' maximal center gauge (a gauge which maximizes the lattice average of the squared-modulus of the trace of link variables), and its use in identifying Z(2) center vortices in Yang-Mills vacuum configurations generated by lattice Monte Carlo. We find that center vortices identified in the vacuum state account for the full asymptotic string tension. Scaling of vortex densities with lattice coupling, change in vortex size with cooling, and sensitivity to Gribov copies is discussed. Preliminary evidence is presented, on small lattices, for center domin…
A particular dimensional reduction of SU(2N) Yang--Mills theory on $Σ\times S^2$, with $Σ$ a Riemann surface, yields an $S(U(N) \times U(N))$ gauge theory on $Σ$, with a matrix Higgs field. The SU(2N) self-dual Yang--Mills equations reduce to Bogomolny equations for vortices on $Σ$. These equations are formally integrable if $Σ$ is the hyperbolic plane, and we present a subclass of solutions.
Motivated by the correlated monopoles and vortices observed in lattice QCD, using Cho decomposition method and two successive gauge transformations which lead to the observation of configurations that include both monopoles and center vortices simultaneously, we obtain a Lagrangian density that explicitly indicates these two magnetic defects and the interaction between them.
The vacuum of Yang-Mills theory contains singular stringlike objects identified with center (magnetic) vortices. Percolation of magnetic vortices is known to be responsible for the color confinement in the low-temperature phase of the theory. In our work we study properties of the vortices at finite temperature using lattice simulations of SU(2) gauge theory. We show that magnetic vortices provide a numerically large contribution to thermodynamic quantities of the gluon plasma in Yang-Mills theory. In particular, we observe that in the deconfinement phase at temperatures T_c < T < 3 T_c the ma…
We successfully exhaust the complete set of exact solutions of non-Abelian vortices in a quiver gauge theory, that is, the S[U(N) x U(N)] gauge theory with a bi-fudamental scalar field on a hyperbolic plane with a certain curvature, from SO(3)-invariant SU(2N) Yang-Mills instanton solutions. This work provides, for the first time, exact non-Abelian vortex solutions. We establish the ADHM construction for non-Abelian vortices and identify all the moduli parameters and the complete moduli space.
If two dimensions of six-dimensional space-time are compactified, a topological configuration of Yang-Mills gauge field appears as a cosmic string in four dimensions, whose thickness is of the same order as the size of the compact space. We consider scattering of low-energy fermions by this object.
The Yang-Mills theory with noncommutative fields is constructed following Hamiltonian and lagrangean methods. This modification of the standard Yang-Mills theory shed light on the confinement mechanism viewed as a Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) effect. The modified Yang-Mills theory contain in addition to the standard contribution, the term $θ^με_{μνρλ} (A^νF^{ρλ} + {2/3} A_νA_ρA_λ)$ where $θ_μ$ is a given space-like constant vector with canonical dimension of energy. The $A_μ$ field rescaling and the choice $θ_μ=(0,0,0,θ)$, one can show that the modified Yang-Mills theory in 3+1 dimension…
Condensation of the Abelian monopoles and the center vortices leads to confinement of color in low temperature phase of Yang-Mills theory. We stress that these topological magnetic degrees of freedom are also very important in the deconfinement regime: at the point of the deconfinement phase transition both the monopoles and the vortices are released into the thermal vacuum contributing, in particular, to the equation of state and, definitely, to transport properties of the hot gluonic medium. Thus, we argue that a novel, magnetic component plays a crucial role. On the other hand, it was demon…
We calculate the energy of a Yang-Mills vortex as function of its magnetic flux or, else, of the Wilson loop surrounding the vortex center. The calculation is performed in the 1-loop approximation. A parallel with a potential as function of the Polyakov line at nonzero temperatures is drawn. We find that quantized Z(2) vortices are dynamically preferred though vortices with arbitrary fluxes cannot be ruled out.
It is demonstrated that there are smooth Yang-Mills potentials which correspond to monopoles and vortices of one-half winding number. They are the generic configurations, in contrast to the integral winding number configurations like the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole.
We develop numerical tools and apply them to solve the relativistic Yang--Mills--Higgs equations in a model where the SU(N) symmetry is spontaneously broken to its center. In SU(2) and SU(3), we obtain the different field profiles for infinite and finite center vortices, with endpoints at external monopole sources. Exploration of parameter space permits the detection of a region where the equations get Abelianized. Finally, a general parametrization of the color structure of SU(2) fields leads us to a reference point where an Abelian-like BPS bound is reconciled with N-ality.
Inspired by the center-vortex dominance in the infrared sector of $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory observed on the lattice, we propose a vacuum wave functional localized on an ensemble of correlated center vortices endowed with stiffness and magnetic monopoles that change the orientation of the vortex flux. In the electric-field representation, this wave functional becomes an effective partition function for N complex scalar fields. The inclusion of both oriented and non-oriented vortices as well as so-called N-vortex matchings leads to an effective potential that has only a center symmetry left. In …
We discuss the role of magnetic degrees of freedom in Yang-Mills plasma at temperatures above and of order of the critical temperature Tc. While at zero temperature the magnetic degrees of freedom are condensed and electric degrees of freedom are confined, at the point of the phase transition both magnetic and electric degrees of freedom are released into the thermal vacuum. This phenomenon might explain the observed unusual properties of the plasma.
We consider vortex-type solutions in $d=5$ dimensions of the Einstein gravity coupled to a nonabelian SU(2) field posessing a nonzero electric part. After the dimensional reduction, this corresponds to a $d=4$ Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs-U(1)-dilaton model. A general axially symmetric ansatz is presented, and the properties of the spherically symmetric solutions are analysed.
We consider a U(2) Yang-Mills theory on M x S_F^2 where M is a Riemannian manifold and S_F^2 is the fuzzy sphere. Using essentially the representation theory of SU(2) we determine the most general SU(2)-equivariant gauge field on M x S_F^2. This allows us to reduce the Yang-Mills theory on M x S_F^2 down to an abelian Higgs-type model over M. Depending on the enforcement (or non-enforcement) of a "constraint" term, the latter may (or may not) lead to the standard critically-coupled abelian Higgs model in the commutative limit, S_F^2 -> S^2. For M = R^2, we find that the abelian Higgs-type mode…
In this Letter we present new, genuinely non-Abelian vortex solutions in SU(2) Yang-Mills--Higgs theory with only one {\it isovector} scalar field. These non-Abelian solutions branch off their Abelian counterparts (Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices) for precise values of the Higgs potential coupling constant $λ$. For all values of $λ$, their energies lie below those of the Abelian energy profiles, the latter being logarithmically divergent as $λ\to\infty$. The non-Abelian branches plateau in the limit $λ\to\infty$ and their number increases with $λ$, this number becoming infinite. For each vor…
We study vortex-type solutions in a (4+1)-dimensional Einstein-Yang-Mills-SU(2) model. Assuming all fields to be independent on the extra coordinate, these solutions correspond in a four dimensional picture to axially symmetric multimonopoles, respectively monopole-antimonopole solutions. By boosting the five dimensional purely magnetic solutions we find new configurations which in four dimensions represents rotating regular nonabelian solutions with an additional electric charge.
We review classical monopole solutions of the SU(2) Yang-Mills-Higgs theory. The first part is a pedagogical introduction into to the basic features of the celebrated 't Hooft - Polyakov monopole. In the second part we describe new classes of static axially symmetric solutions which generalise 't Hooft - Polyakov monopole. These configurations are either deformations of the topologically trivial sector or the sectors with different topological charges. In both situations we construct the solutions representing the chains of monopoles and antimonopoles in static equilibrium. The solutions of an…
It is shown that a pair of vortex and anti-vortex is completely screened in 2+1 dimensional Yang-Mills theory and 3+1 dimensional Yang-Mills theory in the strong coupling limit, based on the recent conjecture of Maldacena. This is consistent with the fact that these theories exhibit confinement.
We present a discussion of embedded vortices in general Yang-Mills theories. The origin of a family structure of solutions is shown to be group theoretic in nature and a procedure for its determination is developed. Vortex stability can be quantified into three types: Abelian topological stability, non-Abelian topological stability, and dynamical stability; we relate these to the family structure of vortices, in particular discussing how Abelian topological and dynamical stability are related. The formalism generally encompasses embedded domain walls and embedded monopoles also.
We consider a U(2) Yang-Mills theory on M x S_F^2 where M is an arbitrary noncommutative manifold and S_F^2 is a fuzzy sphere spontaneously generated from a noncommutative U(N) Yang-Mills theory on M, coupled to a triplet of scalars in the adjoint of U(N). Employing the SU(2)-equivariant gauge field constructed in arXiv:0905.2338, we perform the dimensional reduction of the theory over the fuzzy sphere. The emergent model is a noncommutative U(1) gauge theory coupled adjointly to a set of scalar fields. We study this model on the Groenewald-Moyal plane and find that, in certain limits, it admi…
We consider a complex vector bundle E endowed with a connection A over the eight-dimensional manifold R^2 x G/H, where G/H = SU(3)/U(1)xU(1) is a homogeneous space provided with a never integrable almost complex structure and a family of SU(3)-structures. We establish an equivalence between G-invariant solutions A of the Spin(7)-instanton equations on R^2 x G/H and general solutions of non-Abelian coupled vortex equations on R^2. These vortices are BPS solitons in a d=4 gauge theory obtained from N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in ten dimensions compactified on the coset space G/H with an…
We determine the dimension of the moduli space of non-Abelian vortices in Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons-Higgs theory in 2+1 dimensions for gauge groups $G=({\rm U}(1)\times G')/\mathbb{Z}_{n_0}$ with $G'$ being an arbitrary semi-simple group and $n_0$ the greatest common divisor of the Abelian charges of the $G'$ invariants. The calculation is carried out using a Callias-type index theorem, the moduli matrix approach and a D-brane setup in Type IIB string theory. We prove that the index theorem gives the number of zeromodes or moduli of the non-Abelian vortices, extend the moduli matrix approach to …
We show that vortices of Yang-Mills-Higgs model in $R^{2}$ space can be regarded as instantons of Yang-Mills model in $R^{2}\times Z_{2}$ space. For this, we construct the noncommutative $Z_{2}$ space by explicitly fixing the $Z_{2}$ coordinates and then show, by using the $Z_{2}$ coordinates, that BPS equation for the vortices can be considered as a self-dual equation. We also propose the possibility to rewrite the BPS equations for vortices as ADHM equations through the use of self-dual equation.
There are a large number of systems characterized by a completely broken gauge symmetry, but with an unbroken global color-flavor diagonal symmetry, i.e., systems in the so-called color-flavor locked phase. If the gauge symmetry breaking supports vortices, the latter develop non-Abelian orientational zero-modes and become non-Abelian vortices, a subject of intense study in the last several years. In this paper we consider the effects of weakly gauging the full exact global flavor symmetry in such systems, deriving an effective description of the light excitations in the presence of a vortex. S…
We study spherically and axially symmetric monopoles of the SU(2) Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs-dilaton (EYMHD) system with a new coupling between the dilaton field and the covariant derivative of the Higgs field. This coupling arises in the study of (4+1)-dimensional vortices in the Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) system.
In this work, we analyze a class of Yang-Mills models containing adjoint Higgs fields, with SU(N) symmetry spontaneously broken down to Z(N), showing they contain center vortices, Y-junctions formed by them, and junctions where different center vortices are smoothly interpolated by monopole-like configurations. In the context of dual superconductors, these objects represent different states of the gluon field. Center vortices confine quarks to form normal hadron states. The interpolating monopole, which in our model cannot exist as an isolated configuration, is identified with a confined valen…
The maximal center gauge, combined with center projection, is a means to associate Yang-Mills lattice gauge configurations with closed center vortex world-surfaces. This technique allows to study center vortex physics in lattice gauge experiments. In the present work, the continuum analogue of the maximal center gauge is constructed. This sheds new light on the meaning of the procedure on the lattice and leads to a sketch of an effective vortex theory in the continuum. Furthermore, the manner in which center vortex configurations generate the Pontryagin index is investigated. The Pontryagin in…
We show that in the Landau gauge of the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory the residual global symmetry supports existence of the topological vortices which resemble disclination defects in the nematic liquid crystals and the Alice (half-quantum) vortices in the superfluid heluim 3 in the A-phase. The theory also possesses half-integer and integer charged monopoles which are analogous to the point-like defects in the nematic crystal and in the liquid helium. We argue that the deconfinement phase transition in the Yang-Mills theory in the Landau gauge is associated with the proliferation of these vortices…
The free energy of thick center vortices is calculated in continuum Yang-Mills theory in one-loop approximation using the proper time regularization. The vortices are represented by Abelian gauge field configurations on the torus which satisfy twisted boundary conditions.
In this paper we construct new solutions of the Kahler-Yang-Mills equations, by applying dimensional reduction methods to the product of the complex projective line with a compact Riemann surface. The resulting equations, that we call gravitating vortex equations, describe Abelian vortices on the Riemann surface with back reaction of the metric. As a particular case of these gravitating vortices on the Riemann sphere we find solutions of the Einstein-Bogomol'nyi equations, which physically correspond to Nielsen-Olesen cosmic strings in the Bogomol'nyi phase. We use this to provide a Geometric …
Non-commutative differential geometry allows a scalar field to be regarded as a gauge connection, albeit on a discrete space. We explain how the underlying gauge principle corresponds to the independence of physics on the choice of vacuum state, should it be non-unique. A consequence is that Yang-Mills-Higgs theory can be reformulated as a generalised Yang-Mills gauge theory on Euclidean space with a $Z_2$ internal structure. By extending the Hodge star operation to this non-commutative space, we are able to define the notion of self-duality of the gauge curvature form in arbitrary dimensions.…
Lattice calculations performed in Abelian gauges give strong evidence that confinement is realized as a dual Meissner effect, implying that the Yang-Mills vacuum consists of a condensate of magnetic monopoles. Alternative lattice caluclations performed in the maximum center gauge give strong support that center vortex configurations are the relevant infrared degrees of freedom responsible for confinement and that the magnetic monopoles are mostly sitting on vortices. In this talk I study the continuum Yang-Mills-theory in Abelian and center gauges. In Polyakov gauge the Pontryagin index of the…
We study the BRST renormalization of an alternative formulation of the Yang-Mills theory, where the matrix-propagator of the gluon and the complementary fields is diagonal. This procedure involves scalings as well as non-linear mixings of the fields and sources. We show, in the Landau gauge, that the BRST identities implement a recursive proof of renormalizability to all orders.
The purpose of this paper is to describe a relationship between the moduli space of vortices and the moduli space of instantons. We study charge k vortices in U(N) Yang-Mills-Higgs theories and show that the moduli space is isomorphic to a special Lagrangian submanifold of the moduli space of k instantons in non-commutative U(N) Yang-Mills theories. This submanifold is the fixed point set of a U(1) action on the instanton moduli space which rotates the instantons in a plane. To derive this relationship, we present a D-brane construction in which the dynamics of vortices is described by the Hig…
We give a gauge-invariant definition of the vortex surface in SU(N) Yang-Mills theory without using the gauge fixing procedure. In this construction, gauge-invariant magnetic monopoles with fractional magnetic charges emerge in the boundary of the non-oriented vortex surface such that the asymptotic string tension reproduces the correct $N$-ality dependence. We show that gauge-invariant magnetic monopoles and vortices are simultaneously responsible for quark confinement in four dimensional spacetime based on the Wilson criterion. These results are extracted from a non-Abelian Stokes theorem de…
The AdS/CFT correspondence suggests that there is a point in the phase diagram of strongly interacting gauge-theory matter where the viscosity approaches zero. This paper analyses the possibility that this point represents a superfluid and that the the system near this point in the phase diagram can be described by a Landau fluid. Superfluid vortices are constructed and the AdS analogue of vorticity quantisation is described. The production of vortices in the quark-gluon plasma during heavy ion collisions is discussed.
We consider equivariant dimensional reduction of Yang-Mills theory on K"ahler manifolds of the form M times CP^1 times CP^1. This induces a rank two quiver gauge theory on M which can be formulated as a Yang-Mills theory of graded connections on M. The reduction of the Yang-Mills equations on M times CP^1 times CP^1 induces quiver gauge theory equations on M and quiver vortex equations in the BPS sector. When M is the noncommutative space R_theta^{2n} both BPS and non-BPS solutions are obtained, and interpreted as states of D-branes. Using the graded connection formalism, we assign D0-brane ch…
A BRST perturbative analysis of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in a class of maximal Abelian gauges is presented. We point out the existence of a new nonintegrated renormalizable Ward identity which allows to control the dependence of the theory from the diagonal ghosts. This identity, called the diagonal ghost equation, plays a crucial role for the stability of the model under radiative corrections implying, in particular, the vanishing of the anomalous dimension of the diagonal ghosts. Moreover, the Ward identity corresponding to the Abelian Cartan subgroup is easily derived from the diagonal ghost…
There seems to be close relationship between the moduli space of vortices and the moduli space of instantons, which is not yet clearly understood from a standpoint of the field theory. We clarify the reasons why many similarities are found in the methods for constructing the moduli of instanton and vortex, viewed in the light of the notion of the self-duality. We show that the non-Abelian vortex is nothing but the instanton in $R^{2} \times Z_{2}$ from a viewpoint of the noncommutative differential geometry and the gauge theory in discrete space. The action for pure Yang-Mills theory in $R^{2}…
In this work, we derive a recently proposed Abelian model to describe the interaction of correlated monopoles, center vortices, and dual fields in three dimensional SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. Following recent polymer techniques, special care is taken to obtain the end-to-end probability for a single interacting center vortex, which constitutes a key ingredient to represent the ensemble integration.
Euclidean d=3 SU(2) Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons (YMCS) theory, including Georgi-Glashow (GGCS) theory, may have solitons in the presence of appropriate mass terms. For integral CS level k and for solitons carrying integral CS number, YMCS is gauge-invariant and consistent. However, individual solitons such as sphalerons and linked center vortices with CS number of 1/2 and writhing center vortices with arbitrary CS number are non-compact; a condensate of them threatens compactness of the theory. We study various forms of the non-compact theory in the dilute-gas approximation, treating the parameter…
In this work, we propose a $3D$ ensemble measure for center-vortex worldlines and chains equipped with non-Abelian degrees of freedom. We derive an effective field description for the center-element average where the vortices get represented by $N$ flavors of effective Higgs fields transforming in the fundamental representation. This field content is required to accommodate fusion rules where $N$ vortices can be created out of the vacuum. The inclusion of the chain sector, formed by center-vortex worldlines attached to pointlike defects, leads to a discrete set of $Z(N)$ vacua. This type of SS…
We consider Yang-Mills theory on manifolds ${\mathbb R}\times X$ with a $d$-dimensional Riemannian manifold $X$ of special holonomy admitting gauge instanton equations. Instantons are considered as particle-like solutions in $d+1$ dimensions whose static configurations are concentrated on $X$. We study how they evolve in time when considered as solutions of the Yang-Millsequations on ${\mathbb R}\times X$ with moduli depending on time $t\in{\mathbb R}$. It is shown that in the adiabatic limit, when the metric in the $X$ direction is scaled down, the classical dynamics of slowly moving instanto…
Assuming that center vortices are the confining gauge field configurations, we argue that in gauges that are sensitive to the confining center vortex degrees of freedom, and where the latter lie on the Gribov horizon, the corresponding ghost form factor is infrared divergent. Furthermore, this infrared divergence disappears when center vortices are removed from the Yang-Mills ensemble. On the other hand, for gauge conditions which are insensitive to center vortex degrees of freedom, the ghost form factor is infrared finite and does not change (qualitatively) when center vortices are removed. E…
The vortex picture of confinement is studied. The deconfinement phase transition is explained as a transition from a phase in which vortices percolate to a phase of small vortices. Lattice results are presented in support of this scenario. Furthermore the topological properties of magnetic monopoles and center vortices arising, respectively, in Abelian and center gauges are studied in continuum Yang-Mills-theory. For this purpose the continuum analog of the maximum center gauge is constructed.
We study three-dimensional Yang-Mills-Higgs theories with and without a Chern-Simons interaction. We find that these theories admit a rich spectrum of vortex solitons carrying both a topological charge and a global flavour charge. We further derive a low-energy description of the vortex dynamics from a gauged linear sigma model on the vortex worldline.
We investigate a dynamical mass generation mechanism for the off-diagonal gluons and ghosts in SU(N) Yang-Mills theories, quantized in the maximal Abelian gauge. Such a mass can be seen as evidence for the Abelian dominance in that gauge. It originates from the condensation of a mixed gluon-ghost operator of mass dimension two, which lowers the vacuum energy. We construct an effective potential for this operator by a combined use of the local composite operators technique with the algebraic renormalization and we discuss the gauge parameter independence of the results. We also show that it is …
Non-Abelian BPS vortex solutions are constructed in N=2 theories with gauge groups SO(N)\times U(1). The model has N_f flavors of chiral multiplets in the vector representation of SO(N), and we consider a color-flavor locked vacuum in which the gauge symmetry is completely broken, leaving a global SO(N)_{C+F} diagonal symmetry unbroken. Individual vortices break this symmetry, acquiring continuous non-Abelian orientational moduli. By embedding this model in high-energy theories with a hierarchical symmetry breaking pattern such as SO(N+2) --> SO(N)\times U(1) --> 1, the correspondence between …
I discuss in these lectures vortex-like classical solutions to the equations of motion of gauge theories with spontaneous symmetry breaking. Starting from the Nielsen-Olesen ansatz for the Abelian Higgs model, extensions to the case in which gauge dynamics is governed by Yang-Mills and Chern-Simons actions are presented. The case of semilocal vortices and also the coupling to axions is analyzed. Finally, the connection between supersymmetry and the existence of first order BPS equations in such models is described.
We discuss the abelian vortex dynamics in the abelian projection approach to non-abelian spin models. We show numerically that in the three-dimensional SU(2) spin model in the Maximal Abelian projection the abelian off-diagonal vortices are not responsible for the phase transition contrary to the diagonal vortices. A generalization of the abelian projection approach to SU(N) spin models is briefly discussed.
The vortex picture of confinement is employed to explore the signals of confinement in Yang-Mills Green functions. By using SU(2) lattice gauge theory, it has been well established that the removal of the center vortices from the lattice configurations results in the loss of confinement. The running coupling constant, the gluon and the ghost form factors are studied in Landau gauge for both cases, the full and the vortex removed theory. In the latter case, a strong suppression of the running coupling constant and the gluon form factor at low momenta is observed. At the same time, the singulari…
The effects of the Gribov copies on the gluon and ghost propagators are investigated in SU(2) Euclidean Yang-Mills theory quantized in the maximal Abelian gauge. The diagonal component of the gluon propagator displays the characteristic Gribov type behavior. The off-diagonal component of the gluon propagator is found to be of the Yukawa type, with a dynamical mass originating from the dimension two condensate <A^2>, which is also taken into account. Finally, the off-diagonal ghost propagator exhibits infrared enhancement.