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We consider a model of topological solitons where charged particles have finite mass and the electric charge is quantised already at the classical level. In the electrodynamic limit, which physically corresponds to electrodynamics of solitons of zero size, the Lagrangian of this model has two degrees of freedom only and reduces to the Lagrangian of the Maxwell field in dual representation. We derive the equations of motion and discuss their relations with Maxwell's equations. It is shown that Coulomb and Lorentz forces are a consequence of topology. Further, we relate the U(1) gauge invariance of electrodynamics to the geometry of the soliton field, give a general relation for the derivation of the soliton field from the field strength tensor in electrodynamics and use this relation to express homogeneous electric fields in terms of the soliton field., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Introduction and Section II (Model Lagrangian) rewritten, new chapters concerning electrodynamic limit and discussion of causality inserted

We study kaonic deuterium, the bound K^-d state A_(K d). Within a quantum field theoretic and relativistic covariant approach we derive the energy level displacement of the ground state of kaonic deuterium in terms of the amplitude of K^-d scattering for arbitrary relative momenta. Near threshold our formula reduces to the well-known DGBT formula. The S-wave amplitude of K^-d scattering near threshold is defined by the resonances Lambda(1405), Sigma(1750) and a smooth elastic background, and the inelastic channels K^- d -> NY and K^- d -> NY pion, with Y = Sigma^(+/-), Sigma^0 and Lambda^0, where the final-state interactions play an important role. The Ericson-Weise formula for the S-wave scattering length of K^-d scattering is derived. The total width of the energy level of the ground state of kaonic deuterium is estimated using the theoretical predictions of the partial widths of the two-body decays A_(Kd) -> NY and experimental data on the rates of the NY-pair production in the reactions K^-d -> NY. We obtain Gamma_{1s} = (630 +/-100) eV. For the shift of the energy level of the ground state of kaonic deuterium we predict epsilon_(1s) = (353 +/-60)eV., 73 pages,10 figures, Latex, We have slightly corrected the contribution of the double scattering. The change of the S-wave scattering length of K^-d scattering does not go beyond the theoretical uncertainty, which is about 18%

The confinement in compact QED is known to be related to magnetic monopoles. Magnetic currents form a solenoid around electric flux lines between a pair of electric charges. This behaviour can be described by the dual version of Maxwell—London equations including a fluctuating string. We use a definition of magnetic monopole currents adjusted to the definition of the electric field strength on a lattice and get good agreement for field and current distributions between compact QED and the predictions of dual Maxwell—London equations. Further we show that the monopole fluctuations in the vacuum are suppressed by the flux tube.

QCD in the usual finite temperature formulation is using the grand canonical ensemble with chemical potential zero. We demonstrate that this description may give wrong predictions. QCD in the canonical formulation does not explicitly break Z (3) symmetry. It behaves in this sense like pure gluonic QCD. There are no metastable states in the canonical ensemble description as predicted in the grand canonical ensemble formalism.

We study kaonic hydrogen, the bound K^-p state A_(Kp). Within a quantum field theoretic and relativistic covariant approach we derive the energy level displacement of the ground state of kaonic hydrogen in terms of the amplitude of K^-p scattering for arbitrary relative momenta. The amplitude of low-energy K^-p scattering near threshold is defined by the contributions of three resonances Lambda(1405), Lambda(1800) and Sigma^0(1750) and a smooth elastic background. The amplitudes of inelastic channels of low-energy K^-p scattering fit experimental data on near threshold behaviour of the cross sections and the experimental data by the DEAR Collaboration. We use the soft-pion technique (leading order in Chiral Perturbation Theory) for the calculation of the partial width of the radiative decay of pionic hydrogen A_(pi p) -> n + gamma and the Panofsky ratio. The theoretical prediction for the Panofsky ratio agrees well with experimental data. We apply the soft-kaon technique (leading order in Chiral Perturbation Theory) to the calculation of the partial widths of radiative decays of kaonic hydrogen A_(Kp) -> Lambda^0 + gamma and A_(Kp) -> Sigma^0 + gamma. We show that the contribution of these decays to the width of the energy level of the ground state of kaonic hydrogen is less than 1%., 33 pages, 1 figure, latex, References are added

We consider pionic hydrogen A_(pi p), the bound pi^- p state. Within the quantum field theoretic and relativistic covariant approach we calculate the shift and width of the energy level of the ground state of pionic hydrogen caused by strong low-energy interactions treated perturbatively. The generalization of the Deser-Goldberger-Baumann-Thirring (DGBT) formulas (Phys. Rev. 96, 774 (1954)) is given. The generalized DGBT formulas for the energy level displacement of the ground state of pionic hydrogen contain the non-perturbative and model-independent correction about 1%, caused by the relativistic covariant smearing of the wave function of the ground state around origin. This non-perturbative correction is very important for the precise extraction of the S-wave scattering lengths of pion-nucleon scattering from the experimental data on the energy level displacements in pionic hydrogen by the PSI Collaboration. In addition the shift of the energy level of the ground state of pionic hydrogen is improved by the second order correction of strong low-energy interactions which is about 0.1%. This testifies the applicability of the perturbative treatment of strong low-energy interactions to the analysis of pionic hydrogen. We show that the width of the energy level of the ground state of pionic hydrogen is valid to all order of perturbation theory in strong low-energy interactions., 24 pages, latex, no figures, corrected according to the version accepted for publication in EPJA

We study the SU(2) gauge-Higgs system in D=4 dimensions, and analyze the influence of the fundamental-representation Higgs field on the vortex content of the gauge field. It is shown that center projected Polyakov lines, at low temperature, are finite in the infinite volume limit, which means that the center vortex distribution is consistent with color screening. In addition we confirm and further investigate the presence of a "Kertesz-line" in the strong-coupling region of the phase diagram, which we relate to the percolation properties of center vortices. It is shown that this Kertesz-line separates the gauge-Higgs phase diagram into two regions: a confinement-like region, in which center vortices percolate, and a Higgs region, in which they do not. The free energy of the gauge-Higgs system, however, is analytic across the Kertesz line., Comment: 7 pages, 10 figures

The charge density around a static charge is investigated within finite temperature QCD and compact QED both in the chirally broken and symmetric phase. We display the functional behavior of the charge polarization for various masses of the sea particles and for static sources in higher representations. The total induced charge is found to be consistent with the results from the MILC Collaboration.

We compare large-N and strong coupling with Abelian projection theory predictions.

The charge density around a static charge is investigated within finite temperature QCD and compact QED both in the chirally broken and symmetric phase. We analyze the functional behavior of the charge polarization and compare it to a weak coupling estimate. The total induced charge is found to be consistent with the results of the MILC Collaboration.

We review lattice evidence for the vortex mechanism of quark confinement and study the influence of charged matter fields on the vortex distribution., Comment: 10 pages, 6 eps figures, talk presented by M.F. at the 5th International Conference "Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum", Gargnano, Italy, September 10-14, 2002

We review lattice evidence showing that center-vortex condensation is a serious candidate for the mechanism of colour confinement in quantum chromodynamics.

We review arguments for center dominance in center gauges where vortex locations are correctly identified. We introduce an appealing interpretation of the maximal center gauge, discuss problems with Gribov copies, and a cure to the problems through the direct Laplacian center gauge. We study correlations between direct and indirect Laplacian center gauges.

We develop an analytical approach for non-abelian gauge models within the plaquette representation where the plaquette matrices play the role of the fundamental degrees of freedom. We start from the original Batrouni formulation and show how it can be modified in such a way that each non-abelian Bianchi identity contains two connectors instead of four. Using this representation we construct the low-temperature expansion for U (1) and SU (N) models on a finite lattice and discuss its uniformity in the volume. Next, we derive a dual representation for the 't Hooft loop in the SU (2) model and describe monopoles in the maximal axial gauge.

We show that mass generation in 1+1 and 3+1 dimensions may occur together with spontaneous symmetry breaking.

We present a variety of numerical data supporting the Center Vortex theory of confinement. A method is introduced for identifying the location of center vortices, in thermalized gauge-field configurations generated by lattice Monte Carlo. Fluctuations in the number of such vortices, linked to fundamental representation Wilson loops, appear to be responsible for the asymptotic string tension extracted from those loops., Comment: Invited talk by J. Greensite at the Nato Workshop "New Developments in Quantum Field Theory," Zakopane, Poland (June 1997). 19 pages, including 21 figures, Latex2e. Uses plenum.sty

We follow the idea that particles are topological solitons, characterised by topological quantum numbers determining charge and spin. To describe such particles and their spin we use the three rotational degrees of freedom of local spatial dreibeins. Orbiting particles contribute by internal rotation to the total angular momentum. The mass of these particles is given by their field energy only.

We construct a consistent quantum field theory of a free massless (pseudo)scalar field in 1+1-dimensional space-times free of infrared divergences. We show that a continuous symmetry of (pseudo)scalar field translations is spontaneously broken. Goldstone bosons appear as quanta of a free massless (pseudo)scalar field. We show that the main inequality between vacuum expectation values of certain operators which has been used for the derivation of the Mermin-Wagner-Hohenberg theorem is fulfilled in the quantum field theory of a free massless (pseudo)scalar field free of infrared divergences., 20 pages, Latex, no figures, the manuscript is revised according to the version accepted for publication in EPJC

The D-wave state component of the neutron-proton bound state in the deuteron is calculated in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of light nuclei - the relativistically covariant quantum field theoretic approach to the description of low-energy nuclear forces. The theoretical value of the fraction of the D-wave state relative to the S-wave state is equal to eta_d = 0.0238. This agrees well with the phenomenological value eta_d = 0.0256(4) quoted by Kamionkowski and Bahcall (ApJ. 420, 884 (1994))., 7 pages, latex, no figures

The topological susceptibility induced by center projection vortices extracted from SU(2) lattice Yang-Mills configurations via the maximal center gauge is measured. Two different smoothing procedures, designed to eliminate spurious ultraviolet fluctuations of these vortices before evaluating the topological charge, are explored. They result in consistent estimates of the topological susceptibility carried by the physical thick vortices characterizing the Yang-Mills vacuum in the vortex picture. This susceptibility is comparable to the one obtained from the full lattice Yang-Mills configurations. The topological properties of the SU(2) Yang-Mills vacuum can thus be accounted for in terms of its vortex content., 12 revtex pages, 6 ps figures included using epsf

We introduce a variation of direct maximal center gauge fixing: the ``direct Laplacian'' center gauge. The new procedure overcomes certain shortcomings of maximal center gauge, associated with Gribov copies, that were pointed out by Bornyakov et al. in hep-lat/0009035., Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, latex2e

We review the equivalence of maximal center gauge fixing to the problem of finding the best fit, to a given lattice gauge field, by a thin vortex configuration. This fit is necessarily worst at the location of P-plaquettes. We then compare the fits achieved in Gribov copies generated by (i) over-relaxation; (ii) over-relaxation after Landau gauge preconditioning; and (iii) simulated annealing. Simulated annealing yields the best fit if all links on the lattice are included, but the situation changes if we consider only the lattice volume exterior to P-plaquettes. In this exterior region, the fit is best for Gribov copies generated by over-relaxation, and worst for Gribov copies generated after Landau gauge preconditioning. The two fitting criteria (including or not including the P-plaquettes) yield string tensions differing by -34% to +20% respectively, relative to the full string tension. Our usual procedure (``quenched minimization'') seems to be a compromise between these criteria, and yields string tensions at an intermediate value close to the full string tension., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures

Studying potentials between quark multiplets at finite temperature we find that at large distances all potentials become either screened or have the same string tension as the 3 - 3 potential. Thus, in the confining phase the string tension between different color sources depends only on triality zero or nonzero. The underlying mechanism is a screening of sources by virtual gluons either completely (e.g. octet sources) or partially (e.g. sextet sources) so that either singlet or triplet charges remain. Concerning the Coulomb part and the constant term of the potentials we achieve good agreement for the ratios of different multiplets with a Casimir scaling law already at β = 5.6.

A long-range effective action is derived for strong-coupling lattice SU(2) gauge theory in D=3 dimensions. It is shown that center vortices emerge as stable saddlepoints of this action., Lattice 2000 (Topology and Vacuum), 4 pages

A model for the infrared sector of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory, based on magnetic vortices represented by (closed) random surfaces, is presented. The random surfaces, governed by an action penalizing curvature, are investigated using Monte Carlo methods on a hypercubic lattice. A low-temperature confining phase and a high-temperature deconfined phase are generated by this simple dynamics. After fixing the parameters of the model such as to reproduce the relation between deconfinement temperature and zero-temperature string tension found in lattice Yang-Mills theory, a surprisingly accurate prediction of the spatial string tension in the deconfined phase results. Furthermore, the Pontryagin index associated with the lattice random surfaces of the model is constructed. This allows to also predict the topological susceptibility; the result is compatible with measurements in lattice Yang-Mills theory. Thus, for the first time an effective model description of the infrared sector emerges which simultaneously and consistently reproduces both confinement and the topological aspects of Yang-Mills theory within a unified framework. Further details can be found in hep-lat/9912003 and hep-lat/0004013, both to appear in Nucl. Phys. B., 12 latex pages, 4 epsf figures; talk presented by M.Engelhardt at the Fourth Workshop on "Continuous Advances in QCD", Minneapolis, 12.-14.5.2000, to appear in the proceedings

We discuss the derivation of the path integral representation over gauge degrees of freedom for Wilson loops in $\mathrm{SU}(N)$ gauge theory and 4-dimensional Euclidean space-time by using well-known properties of group characters. A discretized form of the path integral is naturally provided by the properties of group characters and does not need any artificial regularization. We show that the path integral over gauge degrees of freedom for Wilson loops derived by Diakonov and Petrov [Phys. Lett. B 224 131 (1989)] by using a special regularization is erroneous and predicts zero for the Wilson loop. This property is obtained by direct evaluation of path integrals for Wilson loops defined for pure $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ gauge fields and $Z(2)$ center vortices with spatial azimuthal symmetry. Further we show that both derivations given by Diakonov and Petrov for their regularized path integral, if done correctly, predict also zero for Wilson loops. Therefore, the application of their path integral representation of Wilson loops cannot give a new way to check confinement in lattice as has been declared by Diakonov and Petrov [Phys. Lett. B 242 425 (1990)]. From the path integral representation which we consider we conclude that no new non-Abelian Stokes theorem can exist for Wilson loops except the old-fashioned one derived by means of the path-ordering procedure.

The probability P(Delta-Delta) to find the Delta-Delta component inside the deuteron, where Delta stands for the Delta(1232) resonance, is calculated in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model of light nuclei. We obtain P(Delta-Delta) = 0.3%. This prediction agrees good with the experimental estimate P(Delta-Delta) < 0.4% at 90% of CL (D. Allasia et al., Phys. Lett. B174 (1986) 450)., 8 pages, no figures, Latex

Abelian gauge theories formulated on a space-time lattice can be used as a prototype for investigating the confinement mechanism. In U(1) lattice gauge theory it is possible to perform a dual transformation of the path integral. Simulating the obtained dual theory (which corresponds to a certain limit of a dual Higgs model) including external sources, we perform a very accurate analysis of flux tubes with respect to the dual superconductor picture. Dual flux tube simulations are also performed in the full Abelian Higgs model, in order to obtain non-perturbative control over quantum and string fluctuations, and for a comparison to the results of dual QCD.

Starting from the strong-coupling SU(2) Wilson action in D=3 dimensions, we derive an effective, semi-local action on a lattice of spacing L times the spacing of the original lattice. It is shown that beyond the adjoint color-screening distance, i.e. for $L \ge 5$, thin center vortices are stable saddlepoints of the corresponding effective action. Since the entropy of these stable objects exceeds their energy, center vortices percolate throughout the lattice, and confine color charge in half-integer representations of the SU(2) gauge group. This result contradicts the folklore that confinement in strong-coupling lattice gauge theory, for D>2 dimensions, is simply due to plaquette disorder, as is the case in D=2 dimensions. It also demonstrates explicitly how the emergence and stability of center vortices is related to the existence of color screening by gluon fields., 17 pages, 5 figures, latex2e

Here we report on some investigations of the phase structure of hot gauge theories defined in the canonical ensemble (CE) [1]-[3]. Usually, the deconfinement phase transition is associated with the appearence of nonzero triality in the hot phase [4, 5]. In particular Z(N) gauge theories with Higgs fields have been precisely analyzed [5]. Since it was known that at zero temperature these systems have two phases, a confining/screening phase and a deconfining one [6] separated by a critical line and since such a critical line was not found it has been concluded that at finite T the critical behaviour may not be present at all. However, it is not obvious a priori that “free triality states” indeed exist in the deconfined phase. There might be a phase transition unrelated to the triality liberation but rather to different screening mechanisms of triality. We present some results which indicate that this can be the case. The idea is to generalize a certain A operator introduced in [7] to finite T theory and to study its behaviour in the CE.

In SU(2) lattice gauge theory in maximal center gauge, we investigate the dependence of center-projected Creutz ratios and the vortex density on lattice size and the number of gauge copies. The dependence on the number of copies is rather strong on small lattices, but almost disappears on lattices sufficiently large compared to the expected average vortex thickness. The center-projected string tension, evaluated on sufficiently large lattices, is in good agreement with the full asymptotic string tension, and the vortex density scales according to the second-order asymptotic-freedom formula., Comment: Lattice 2000 (Topology and Vacuum), 4 pages, 4 EPS-figures

The center-vortex model of color confinement was proposed more than 20 years ago by ‘t Hooft [1] and other authors [2]. It was quite popular for a while, but then fell in oblivion, before being subjected to thorough tests in simulations of quantum chromodynamics on a lattice. One of the exceptions was the work of Tomboulis and collaborators [3]. In recent years the interest in this picture has been renewed due to our discovery of center dominance in SU(2) lattice gauge theory in maximal center gauge [4]. Substantial lattice evidence has then been accumulated on the role played by center vortices in color confinement [5, 6, 7].

We evaluate the evolution operator Z_Reg(R_2,R_1) introduced by Diakonov and Petrov for the definition of the Wilson loop in terms of a path integral over gauge degrees of freedom. We use the procedure suggested by Diakonov and Petrov (Phys. Lett. B224 (1989) 131) and show that the evolution operator vanishes., Comment: 7 pages, no figures, Latex, the contribution of all terms of order O(delta/I_i), where i = perp or parallel, are calculated

We introduce a model designed to describe charged particles as stable topological solitons of a field with values on the internal space S^3. These solitons behave like particles with relativistic properties like Lorentz contraction and velocity dependence of mass. This mass is defined by the energy of the soliton. In this sense this model is a generalisation of the sine-Gordon model from 1+1 dimensions to 3+1 dimensions, from S^1 to S^3. (We do not chase the aim to give a four-dimensional generalisation of Coleman's isomorphism between the Sine-Gordon model and the Thirring model which was shown in 2-dimensional space-time.) For large distances from the center of solitons this model tends to a dual U(1)-theory with freely propagating electromagnetic waves. Already at the classical level it describes important effects, which usually have to be explained by quantum field theory, like particle-antiparticle annihilation and the running of the coupling., 42 pages, 7 figures, more detailed calculations and comparison to Skyrme model and 't Hooft-Polyakov monopoles added

The authors argue that the vortex-finding property of maximal center gauge, i.e. the ability of this gauge to locate center vortices inserted by hand on any given lattice, is the key to its success in extracting the vortex content of thermalized lattice configurations. The authors explain how this property comes about, and why it is expected not only in maximal center gauge, but also in an infinite class of gauge conditions based on adjoint-representation link variables. In principle, the vortex-finding property can be foiled by Gribov copies. This fact is relevant to a gauge-fixing procedure devised by Kovacs and Tomboulis, where they show that the loss of center dominance, found in their procedure, is explained by a corresponding loss of the vortex-finding property. The dependence of center dominance on the vortex-finding property is demonstrated numerically in a number of other gauges.

We investigate the structure of center projected vortices of SU(2) lattice gauge theory at zero and finite temperature. At zero temperature we find, in agreement with the area law behaviour of Wilson loops, that most of the P-vortex plaquettes are parts of a single huge vortex. This vortex is an unorientable surface and has a very irregular structure with many handles. Small P-vortices, and short-range fluctuations of the large vortex surface, do not contribute to the string tension. At finite temperature P-vortices exist also in the deconfined phase. However, they form cylindric objects which extend in time direction and consist only of space-space plaquettes., Comment: LATTICE99 - 3 pages, 6 figures

We investigate the structure of center vortices in maximal center gauge of SU(2) lattice gauge theory at zero and finite temperature. In center projection the vortices (called P-vortices) form connected two dimensional surfaces on the dual four-dimensional lattice. At zero temperature we find, in agreement with the area law behaviour of Wilson loops, that most of the P-vortex plaquettes are parts of a single huge vortex. Small P-vortices, and short-range fluctuations of the large vortex surface, do not contribute to the string tension. All of the huge vortices detected in several thousand field configurations turn out to be unorientable. We determine the Euler characteristic of these surfaces and find that they have a very irregular structure with many handles. At finite temperature P-vortices exist also in the deconfined phase. They form cylindric objects which extend in time direction. After removal of unimportant short range fluctuations they consist only of space-space plaquettes, which is in accordance with the perimeter law behaviour of timelike Wilson loops, and the area law behaviour of spatial Wilson loops in this phase., Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX2e, 16 eps figures included in text; a misprint in the abstract corrected

We argue that the ``vortex-finding'' property of maximal center gauge, i.e. the ability of this gauge to locate center vortices inserted by hand on any given lattice, is the key to its success in extracting the vortex content of thermalized lattice configurations. We explain how this property comes about, and why it is expected not only in maximal center gauge, but also in an infinite class of gauge conditions based on adjoint-representation link variables. In principle, the vortex-finding property can be foiled by Gribov copies. This fact is relevant to a gauge-fixing procedure devised by Kovacs and Tomboulis, where we show that the loss of center dominance, found in their procedure, is explained by a corresponding loss of the vortex-finding property. The association of center dominance with the vortex-finding property is demonstrated numerically in a number of other gauges., Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, Latex2e

The dominance of center degrees of freedom is observed in SU(3) lattice gauge theory in maximal center gauge. The full asymptotic string tension is reproduced, after center projection, by the center elements alone. When center vortices are removed from lattice configurations, the string tension tends to zero. This provides further evidence for the role played by center vortices in the mechanism of color confinement in quantum chromodynamics, but more extensive simulations with a better gauge-fixing procedure are still needed., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX2e

We present several new results which pertain to the successes of center projection in maximal center gauge (MCG). In particular, we show why any center vortex, inserted "by hand" into a thermalized lattice configuration, will be among the set of vortices found by the center projection procedure. We show that this "vortex-finding property" is lost when gauge-field configurations are fixed to Landau gauge prior to the maximal center gauge fixing; this fact accounts for the loss of center dominance in the corresponding projected configurations. Variants of maximal center (adjoint Landau) gauge are proposed which correctly identify relevant center vortices., Comment: LATTICE99(confine), 3 pages, 3 figures

We discuss the implementation of the ``direct'' maximal center gauge (a gauge which maximizes the lattice average of the squared-modulus of the trace of link variables), and its use in identifying Z(2) center vortices in Yang-Mills vacuum configurations generated by lattice Monte Carlo. We find that center vortices identified in the vacuum state account for the full asymptotic string tension. Scaling of vortex densities with lattice coupling, change in vortex size with cooling, and sensitivity to Gribov copies is discussed. Preliminary evidence is presented, on small lattices, for center dominance in SU(3) lattice gauge theory., 28 pages including 18 figures, Latex2e

We report on two recent developments in the center vortex theory of confinement: (i) the asymptotic scaling of the vortex density, as measured in Monte Carlo simulations; and (ii) an explanation of Casimir scaling and the adjoint string tension, in terms of the center vortex mechanism., Comment: LATTICE98(confine), 3 pages, 3 figures

We argue that the approximate ``Casimir scaling'' of the string tensions of higher-representation Wilson loops is an effect due to the finite thickness of center vortex configurations. It is shown, in the context of a simple model of the Z(2) vortex core, how vortex condensation in Yang-Mills theory can account for both Casimir scaling in intermediate size loops, and color-screening in larger loops. An implication of our model is that the deviations from exact Casimir scaling, which tend to grow with loop size, become much more pronounced as the dimensionality of the group representation increases., 13 pages, including 3 eps figures, Latex2e. Two references added

The phase structure of hot gauge theories with dynamical matter fields is reexamined in the canonical ensemble with respect to triality. We discuss properties of chromoelectric and chromomagnetic sectors of the theory and show whereas electric charges carrying a unit of Z(N) charge are screened at high temperatures via dynamical matter loops, this is not the case for the Z(N) magnetic flux. An order parameter is constructed to probe the realization of local Z(N) symmetry in the magnetic sector. We argue this order parameter may be used to detect the deconfinement phase transition which is defined in terms of the screening mechanism., poster presented at LATTICE97; 3 pages, latex

We present a method for locating center vortices (``fluxons'') in thermalized lattice gauge field configurations. We find evidence, in lattice Monte Carlo simulations, that the asymptotic string tension of fundamental-representation Wilson loops is due to fluctuations in the number of center vortices linking those loops., Comment: Talk presented at Lattice 97. 3 pages, 2 figures, Latex. Uses espcrc2.sty and psfig.sty

We modify the standard Wilson action of SU(3) lattice gauge theory by adding an extra term which suppresses colour magnetic currents. We present numerical results of simulations at zero and finite temperature and show that colour magnetic currents strongly influence the confining properties of SU(3) lattice gauge theory., 11 pages, latex, 8 pslatex-figures included, complete postscript file also available at ftp://is1.kph.tuwien.ac.at/pub/skala/pl97.ps.gz, to be published in Phys. Lett. B, replaced to match version accepted for publication

The relativistic field theory model of the deuteron is applied to the calculation of the cross sections of the low-energy radiative neutron-proton capture n + p -> D + gamma and the low-energy two-proton fusion p + p -> D + e^+ + nu_e. For the low-energy radiative neutron-proton capture n + p -> D + gamma our result agrees well with both the experimental data and the potential model prediction. In the case of the two-proton fusion the cross section obtained is 2.9 times as much as that given by the potential approach. The obtained result is discussed in connection with the solar neutrino problem. ERRATUM: We correct the value of the cross section for pp-fusion p + p -> D + e^+ + nu_e. We find a contribution to the astrophysical factor ��S_pp(0) = 2.01 x 10^{-25} (1 +/- 0.30) MeV b which is obtained only due to weak and strong low-energy interactions of the protons and the deuteron when neglecting the Coulomb repulsion between protons in the intermediate state. Minor misprints are corrected., 35 pages, LaTeX, plus 5 figures added as postscript files, ERRATUM: 3 pages, to appear in Nucl. Phys. A added at the end