Center Dominance in SU(2) Gauge-Higgs Theory

Abstract

We study the SU(2) gauge-Higgs system in D=4 dimensions, and analyze the influence of the fundamental-representation Higgs field on the vortex content of the gauge field. It is shown that center projected Polyakov lines, at low temperature, are finite in the infinite volume limit, which means that the center vortex distribution is consistent with color screening. In addition we confirm and further investigate the presence of a "Kertesz-line" in the strong-coupling region of the phase diagram, which we relate to the percolation properties of center vortices. It is shown that this Kertesz-line separates the gauge-Higgs phase diagram into two regions: a confinement-like region, in which center vortices percolate, and a Higgs region, in which they do not. The free energy of the gauge-Higgs system, however, is analytic across the Kertesz line.