Phase transitions in SO(3) lattice gauge theory

Abstract

The phase diagram of SO(3) lattice gauge theory is investigated by Monte Carlo techniques on both symmetric N_σ⁴ and asymmetric N_σ³× N_β lattices with a view (i) to understanding the relationship between the bulk transition and the deconfinement transition, and (ii) to resolving the current ambiguity about the nature of the high temperature phase. A number of tests, including an introduction of a magnetic field and measurement of different correlation functions in the phases with positive and negative values for the adjoint Polyakov line, L_α , lead to the conclusion that the two phases correspond to the same physical state. Studies on lattices of different sizes reveal only one phase transition for this theory on all of them and it appears to have a deconfining nature.