Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present results for the chromo-electric field generated by a static quark–antiquark pair at finite temperature, in lattice QCD with 2+1 dynamical staggered fermions at physical quark masses. We investigate the evolution of the field as the temperature increases through and beyond the chiral transition. For all the temperatures considered we find clear evidence of a chromo-magnetic current and of a longitudinal nonperturbative chromo-electric field that stays almost uniform along the flux tube. In the high-temperature region the magnitude of the flux-tube field is determined by an effective string tension that decreases exponentially as the temperature increases, while the flux-tube width decreases according to an inverse-temperature law. Our results suggest that beyond the chiral pseudocritical temperature the quark-antiquark system can be characterized by a screened string tension.
Source: The European Physical Journal C
Authors: M. Baker, P. Cea, V. Chelnokov, L. Cosmai, A. Papa
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7136326554