Universal properties of Wilson loop operators in large N QCD

Abstract

Eigenvalues of a Wilson loop operator are gauge invariant and their distribution undergoes a transition at infinite N as the size of the loop is changed. We study this transition using the average characteristic polynomial associated with the Wilson loop operator. We derive the scaling function in a certain double scaling limit for two dimensional QCD and hypothesize that the transition in three and four dimensional QCD are in the same universality class. Numerical evidence for this hypothesisis provided in three dimensions

Comments: 7 pages, 3 figures, The XXVI International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 14-19 2008, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA