Z_2 Monopoles, Vortices and the Universality of the SU(2) Deconfinement Transition

Abstract

We investigate the effect of $Z_2$ magnetic monopoles and vortices on the finite temperature deconfinement phase transition in the fundamental - adjoint SU(2) lattice gauge theory. In the limit of complete suppression of the $Z_2$ monopoles, the mixed action for the SU(2) theory in its Villain form is shown to be self-dual under the exchange of the fundamental and adjoint couplings. By further suppressing the $Z_2$ vortices we show that the extended model reduces to the Wilson action with a modified coupling. The universality of the SU(2) deconfinement phase transition with the Ising model is therefore expected to remain intact in the entire plane of the fundamental-adjoint couplings in the continuum limit. The self-duality arguments related to the suppression of $Z_2$ monopoles are also applicable to the Villain form of mixed action for the SU(N) theory with $Z_N$ magnetic monopoles.

Comments: 12 pages, Latex, To appear in Phys. Lett. B