Talk presented by Hugo Reinhardt

Parallel Session: Confinement V

Friday July 2nd, 15.30 - 15.50, Fermi Room

Center Vortices, Magnetic Monopoles and Topology of Yang-Mills Fields

Abstract: The vortex picture of confinement as it arises in center projected lattice theory is investigated in the continuum theory. Center vortices are defined in terms of the gauge potential as closed magnetic flux sheets which contribute center elements to Wilson loops in the fundamental representation when the latters are non-trivially linked to the vortices. The continuum analog of the maximal center gauge is derived and the effect of the maximal center gauge fixing on vortex configurations is investigated. Furthermore it is shown that the topological charge of a center vortex is given by its self-intersection number, which vanishes unless there are magnetic monopole currents flowing on the vortex.

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