English

A finite box as a tool to distinguish free quarks from confinement at high temperatures

High Energy Physics - Lattice 2021-06-30 v2 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Theory Nuclear Theory

Abstract

Above the pseudocritical temperature T_c of chiral symmetry restoration a chiral spin symmetry (a symmetry of the color charge and of electric confinement) emerges in QCD. This implies that QCD is in a confining mode and there are no free quarks. At the same time correlators of operators constrained by a conserved current behave as if quarks were free. This explains observed fluctuations of conserved charges and the absence of the rho-like structures seen via dileptons. An independent evidence that one is in a confining mode is very welcome. Here we suggest a new tool how to distinguish free quarks from a confining mode. If we put the system into a finite box, then if the quarks are free one necessarily obtains a remarkable diffractive pattern in the propagator of a conserved current. This pattern is clearly seen in a lattice calculation in a finite box and it vanishes in the infinite volume limit as well as in the continuum. In contrast, the full QCD calculations in a finite box show the absence of the diffractive pattern implying that the quarks are confined.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2007.10942,
  title  = {A finite box as a tool to distinguish free quarks from confinement at high temperatures},
  author = {L. Ya. Glozman and C. B. Lang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2007.10942},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

6 pages, 5 figures. A new figure has been added and discussion that clarifies the main point of the paper has been expanded. Accepted by EPJA