The length distribution of vortex strings in U(1) equilibrium scalar field theory

Abstract

We characterize the statistical length distribution of vortex strings by studying the non-perturbative thermodynamics of scalar U(1) field theory in 3D. All parameters characterizing the length distributions exhibit critical behavior at $T_c$ and we measure their associated critical exponents. Moreover we show that vortex strings are generally self-seeking at finite temperature and that there exists a natural separation between long strings and small loops based on their spatial correlation behavior.

Comments: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTex