Computation of the Spatial String Tension in High Temperature SU(2) Gauge Theory

A detailed investigation of the temperature dependence of the spatial string tension $\sigma_s$ in $SU(2)$ gauge theory is presented. A sustained performance of 3~GFLOPS on a 64K Connection Machine CM-2 equivalent has been achieved. Scaling of $\sigma_s$ between $\beta=2.5115$ and $\beta=2.74$, on large lattices, is demonstrated. Below the critical temperature, $T_c$, $\sigma_s$ remains constant. For temperatures larger than $2T_c$ the temperature dependence can be parametrized by $\sigma_s(T) = (0.369\pm 0.014)^2 g^4(T)T^2$, where $g(T)$ is a 2-loop running coupling constant with the scale parameter determined as $\Lambda_T = (0.076\pm 0.013)T_c$.