Effective strings in QED3
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: A bstract Effective string theory describes the physics of long confining strings in theories, like Yang-Mills theory, where the mass gap $$ {M}_{\textrm{gap}}^2 $$ M gap 2 is of the same order as the string tension T . In 2 + 1 dimensions, there is a class of confining theories, including massive QED 3 as first analyzed by Polyakov, for which $$ {M}_{\textrm{gap}}^2 $$ M gap 2 ≪ T . These theories are weakly coupled at low energies of order M gap , and may be analyzed perturbatively. In this paper, we analyze the physics of strings in such theories, focusing on QED 3 , at energies of order M gap (but still well below $$ \sqrt{T} $$ T ). We argue that the width of the string in these theories should be of order 1/ M gap independently of its length, as long as the string is not exponentially long. We also compute at leading order in perturbation theory the ground state energy of a confining string on a circle, and the scattering of Nambu-Goldstone bosons on the string worldsheet.
Source: Journal of High Energy Physics
Authors: Ofer Aharony, Netanel Barel, Tal Sheaffer
Institution: Weizmann Institute of Science
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Award: G6786139606
OpenAlex ID: W4408647575