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arxiv: hep-th/0601210 · v2 · submitted 2006-01-28 · ✦ hep-th · hep-lat· hep-ph

Infinite N phase transitions in continuum Wilson loop operators

classification ✦ hep-th hep-lathep-ph
keywords loopoperatorsphasecontinuumlargewilsondimensionaldistribution
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We define smoothed Wilson loop operators on a four dimensional lattice and check numerically that they have a finite and nontrivial continuum limit. The continuum operators maintain their character as unitary matrices and undergo a phase transition at infinite N reflected by the eigenvalue distribution closing a gap in its spectrum when the defining smooth loop is dilated from a small size to a large one. If this large N phase transition belongs to a solvable universality class one might be able to calculate analytically the string tension in terms of the perturbative Lambda-parameter. This would be achieved by matching instanton results for small loops to the relevant large-N-universal function which, in turn, would be matched for large loops to an effective string theory. Similarities between our findings and known analytical results in two dimensional space-time indicate that the phase transitions we found only affect the eigenvalue distribution, but the traces of finite powers of the Wilson loop operators stay smooth under scaling.

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