Planar Limit of Orientifold Field Theories and Emergent Center Symmetry
We consider orientifold field theories (i.e. SU(N) Yang-Mills theories with fermions in the two-index symmetric or antisymmetric representations) on R{sub 3} x S{sub 1} where the compact dimension can be either temporal or spatial. These theories are planar equivalent to supersymmetric Yang-Mills. The latter has Z{sub N} center symmetry. The famous Polyakov criterion establishing confinement-deconfinement phase transition as that from Z{sub N} symmetric to Z{sub N} broken phase applies. At the Lagrangian level the orientifold theories have at most a Z{sub 2} center. We discuss how the full Z{sub N} center symmetry dynamically emerges in the orientifold theories in the limit N {yields} {infinity}. In the confining phase the manifestation of this enhancement is the existence of stable k-strings in the large-N limit of the orientifold theories. These strings are identical to those of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. We argue that critical temperatures (and other features) of the confinement-deconfinement phase transition are the same in the orientifold daughters and their supersymmetric parent up to 1/N corrections. We also discuss the Abelian and non-Abelian confining regimes of four-dimensional QCD-like theories.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 920593
- Report Number(s):
- SLAC-PUB-13032; arXiv:0712.0672; TRN: US0801982
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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