From decay to complete breaking: pulling the strings in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory

Area of Science:

• High-energy physics
• Quantum field theory
• String theory

Background:

• Investigating the behavior of strings connecting static charges in (2+1)D SU(2) Yang-Mills theory.
• Understanding the stability and breaking mechanisms of different types of strings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the breaking properties of fundamental and adjoint strings.
• To explore the decay processes of stretched strings.
• To model the energy of screened charges using a constituent gluon model.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of (2+1)D SU(2) Yang-Mills theory.
• Study of string states corresponding to different representations (fundamental, adjoint).
• Phenomenological modeling of screened charge energy.

Main Results:

• The fundamental string (2) is unbreakable.
• The adjoint string (3) can break.
• Higher representation strings ({4}, {5}) decay into lower representation strings ({2}, {3}) upon stretching.
• A phenomenological constituent gluon model accurately describes screened charge energy.

Conclusions:

• String breaking is dependent on the representation of the connecting string.
• Gluon pair creation is a key mechanism for string decay.
• The constituent gluon model provides a valid framework for understanding screened charge interactions.