Finite temperature SU(2) gauge theory: critical coupling and universality class

Abstract

We examine SU(2) gauge theory in 3+1 dimensions at finite temperature in the vicinity of critical point. For various lattice sizes in time direction ($N_\tau=1,2,4,8$) we extract high precision values of the inverse critical coupling and critical values of the 4-th order cumulant of Polyakov loops (Binder cumulant). We check the universality class of the theory by comparing the cumulant values to that of the 3D Ising model and find very good agreement. The Polyakov loop correlators for the indicated lattices are also measured and the string tension values extracted. The high precision values of critical coupling and string tension allow us to study the scaling of dimensionless $T_c/\sqrt{\sigma}$ ratio. The violation of scaling by <10% is observed as the coupling is varied from weak to strong coupling regime.