Perturbative Aspects of the Deconfinement Transition


Book Description

This book offers an original view of the color confinement/deconfinement transition that occurs in non-abelian gauge theories at high temperature and/or densities. It is grounded on the fact that the standard Faddeev-Popov gauge-fixing procedure in the Landau gauge is incomplete. The proper analysis of the low energy properties of non-abelian theories in this gauge requires, therefore, the extension of the gauge-fixing procedure, beyond the Faddeev-Popov recipe. The author reviews various applications of one such extension, based on the Curci-Ferrari model, with a special focus on the confinement/deconfinement transition, first in the case of pure Yang-Mills theory, and then, in a formal regime of Quantum Chromodynamics where all quarks are considered heavy. He shows that most qualitative aspects and also many quantitative features of the deconfinement transition can be accounted for within the model, with only one additional parameter. Moreover, these features emerge in a systematic and controlled perturbative expansion, as opposed to what would happen in a perturbative expansion within the Faddeev-Popov model. The book is also intended as a thorough and pedagogical introduction to background field gauge techniques at finite temperature and/or density. In particular, it offers a new and promising view on the way these techniques might be applied at finite temperature. The material aims at graduate students or researchers who wish to deepen their understanding of the confinement/deconfinement transition from an analytical perspective. Basic knowledge of gauge theories at finite temperature is required, although the text is designed in a self-contained manner, with most concepts and tools introduced when needed. At the end of each chapter, a series of exercises is proposed to master the subject.




Confinement, Topology, and Other Non-Perturbative Aspects of QCD


Book Description

The problem of quark confinement is one of the classic unsolved problems of particle physics and is fundamental to our understanding of the physics of the strong interaction and the behaviour of non-Abelian gauge theories in general. The confinement problem is also are area in which concepts from topology and techniques of computational physics both find important applications. This volume contains a snapshot of current research in this field as of January 2002. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of topological field configurations such as centre vortices and monopoles in proposed confinement mechanisms. Other topics covered include colour superconductivity, instantons and chiral symmetry breaking, matrix models and the construction of chiral gauge theories. Readership: Research scientists and graduate students of high energy physics and nuclear physics.










New Non-Perturbative Methods and Quantization on the Light Cone


Book Description

Among the several distinct ways of formulating and quantizing a Hamiltonian system, the light cone approach enjoys special status because it has the largest stability group. The aim of this volume is to present recent achievements and open problems in this rather unusual quantization framework to a large audience. The formulation is set up in a comprehensive introduction where the issues are also clearly indicated with specific examples: vacuum structure, signature of non-perturbative effects, chiral symmetry breaking, light cone gauge theories, etc. The following chapters address these topics through a selection of the most relevant contributions presented at Les Houches. This volume should prove valuable to newcomers in the field, and graduates and academics.




Relativistic Aspects Of Nuclear Physics - Proceedings Of The 4th International Workshop


Book Description

The following are the topics covered: Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions; Hadronic Interaction and Particle Production Processes; Transport Theory for Hadrons and Quark-Gluon Plasma; Hadronization Process; Disordered Chiral Condensate; Strangeness Production; Lepton Pair Production; Particle Interferometry, Electromagnetic Signals of QGP; Structure of Hadrons; Nuclear Astrophysics and Solar Neutrino Problem.




Lattice Gauge Theories: An Introduction (Second Edition)


Book Description

This book introduces the reader to an area of elementary particle physics which has been the subject of intensive research in the past two decades. It provides graduate students with the basic theoretical background on quantum gauge field theories formulated on a space-time lattice, and with the computational tools for carrying out research in this field. The book is a substantially extended version of the first edition which appeared in 1992. Much effort has been invested to present the material in a transparent way, and in exemplifying subtle points in simple models. The material covered should enable the reader to follow the vast literature on the subject without too much difficulties. Hopefully the book will motivate young physicists to carry out research in this area of elementary particle physics.




From Fields To Strings: Circumnavigating Theoretical Physics: Ian Kogan Memorial Collection (In 3 Vols)


Book Description

This volume is a collection of dedicated reviews covering all aspects of theoretical high energy physics and some aspects of solid state physics. Some of the papers are broad reviews of topics that span the entire field while others are surveys of authors' personal achievements. This is the most comprehensive review collection reflecting state of the art at the end of 2004. An important and unique aspect is a special effort the authors have invested in making the presentation pedagogical.




From Fields to Strings


Book Description




Selected Topics in Non Perturbative QCD


Book Description

The book addresses aspects of QCD which are related to its underlying structure as a field theory and to its mechanisms. Perturbative expansions do not work at large distances for QCD: the hadron spectrum, the confinement of colour, its deconfinement at high temperatures and the breaking of chiral symmetry all need nonperturbative methods of analysis. Sum rules, chiral perturbation theory and the formulation of QCD on a lattice are some of the tools used to test models, like the stochastic vacuum, the instanton liquid or the consideration of monopoles in the vacuum to produce dual superconductivity and confinement. The work covers different points of view and critical comparison between the different approaches. It can be considered a good reference text.