SU(3) string tension and the presence of vortices

Lattice simulations are presented showing the expectation of the fluctuation of the Wilson loop solely by elements of the center to fully reproduce the SU(3) heavy quark potential. The results are stable under smoothing, and point to thick vortices as being responsible for the full SU(3) tension. An analytic result on the necessary presence of thick vortices for confinement at weak coupling is also presented.