Deconfinement-Higgs continuity in ${\rm SU(2)}$ adjoint Higgs model at finite temperature

Abstract

We study the finite-temperature phase structure of the four-dimensional ${\rm SU(2)}$ adjoint Higgs model, focusing on a possible deconfinement-Higgs continuity: the conjecture that the high-temperature deconfined phase of Yang-Mills theory and the finite-temperature Higgs phase form a single thermodynamic phase. We combine three approaches: (i) global symmetry analysis, showing that Higgs and deconfined regimes are expected to share the same symmetry pattern distinct from the confined phase; (ii) a deformation analysis, which yields an explicit continuous path between ``deconfined symmetric'' and ``deconfined Higgs'' regions in a reduced three-dimensional lattice model; and (iii) Hybrid Monte Carlo analysis on $16^3\times 8$ and $12^3\times 6$ lattices, showing results suggestive of continuity. These results indicate that the Higgs and deconfined regimes can be continuously connected, while the confined phase remains distinct.