The role of the Polyakov loop in the Dirac operator of QCD at finite temperature

We show how all the contributions to the determinant of the Dirac-Kogut-Susskind operator of QCD at finite temperature containing a net number of Polyakov loops become irrelevant in the infinite volume limit. We discuss also on two of the most interesting physical implications of this result: i) the restoration of the Polyakov symmetry in the full theory with dynamical fermions and ii) the total suppression of baryonic thermal fluctuations in QCD at finite temperature.