BKT phase transitions in strongly coupled 3D Z(N) LGT at finite temperature

Abstract

We investigate, both analytically and numerically, the phase diagram of three-dimensional Z(N) lattice gauge theories at finite temperature for N > 4. These models, in the strong coupling limit, are equivalent to a generalized version of vector Potts models in two dimension, with Polyakov loops playing the role of Z(N) spins. It is argued that the effective spin models have two phase transitions of infinite order (i.e. BKT). Using a cluster algorithm we confirm this conjecture, locate the position of the critical points and extract various critical indices.