Speaker
Description
Compact U(1) gauge theory in 3+1 dimensions possesses the confining phase characterized by a linear raise of the potential between particles with opposite electric charges at sufficiently large inter-particle separation. This phenomenon is closely related to the color confinement in non-Abelian gauge theories such as QCD. In QED, the condensation of Abelian monopoles at strong gauge coupling leads to confinement of electric charges because the monopole condensate squeezes the electric flux into a thin electric tube which plays the role of confining string. We investigate how the vacuum structure of the theory is influenced by adding two perfectly-conducting parallel plates associated with the Casimir effect, which predicts that the presence of physical bodies modifies the energy of vacuum fluctuations. Using first-principal numerical simulations in 3+1 dimensional compact U(1) lattice gauge theory, we have found that as the distance between the plates diminishes, the vacuum between the plates undergoes a deconfining transition with the phase transition point shifting towards weaker gauge coupling. The phase diagram in the space of the lattice gauge coupling and the inter-plate distance is obtained.
