Numerical indication that center vortices drive dynamical mass generation in QCD

Abstract

The first calculation of the response of the momentum space quark propagator to center vortices in the ground state fields of QCD is presented. Center vortices are identified on 2+1-flavour dynamical gauge fields with $m_\pi \simeq 156$ MeV to obtain the vortex-removed and vortex-only quark propagator. Dynamical mass generation is found to vanish upon vortex removal, while the vortex-only field is able to generate dynamical mass. These new signatures strengthen the lattice QCD evidence indicating that center vortices underpin both dynamical chiral symmetry breaking and quark confinement.