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Center vortex evidence for a second finite-temperature QCD transition
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Chris Allton ,
Ryan Bignell ,
Derek Leinweber
Physical Review D, Volume: 111, Issue: 3
Swansea University Authors:
Chris Allton , Ryan Bignell
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DOI (Published version): 10.1103/physrevd.111.034508
Abstract
Evidence for the existence of a second finite-temperature transition in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is obtained through the study of center vortex geometry and its evolution with temperature. The dynamical anisotropic ensembles of the Fastsum Collaboration are utilized to conduct a comprehensive an...
| Published in: | Physical Review D |
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| ISSN: | 2470-0010 2470-0029 |
| Published: |
American Physical Society (APS)
2025
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69301 |
| Abstract: |
Evidence for the existence of a second finite-temperature transition in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is obtained through the study of center vortex geometry and its evolution with temperature. The dynamical anisotropic ensembles of the Fastsum Collaboration are utilized to conduct a comprehensive analysis at eight temperatures beyond the established chiral transition. Visualizations of the center vortex structure in temporal and spatial slices of the lattice reveal that vortex percolation persists through the chiral transition and ceases at a temperature that is approximately twice the chiral transition temperature . This implies that confinement is retained through temperatures up to ≈2, pointing toward a second transition corresponding to deconfinement. The loss of percolation is quantified by the vortex cluster extent, providing a clear signal for the deconfinement transition. Additional vortex statistics, including temporal correlations, vortex and branching point densities, the number of secondary clusters and vortex chain lengths between branching points, are scrutinized as a function of temperature. All ten measures investigated herein show the characteristics of two transitions in QCD, encompassing the chiral transition at and the deconfinement transition at ≈2. Performing an inflection point analysis on the vortex and branching point densities produces an estimate of that agrees with the known Fastsum value. By the same procedure, a precise estimate of the deconfinement point is extracted as =321(6) MeV. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This research was supported by the Australian Research Council through Grant No. DP210103706. C. A. is grateful for support via STFC Grant No. ST/X000648/1 and the award of a Southgate Fellowship from the University of Adelaide. R. B. acknowledges support from a Science Foundation Ireland Frontiers for the Future Project award with Grant No. SFI-21/FFP-P/10186. |
| Issue: |
3 |