Thermal Phase Transition in Mixed Action SU(3) Lattice Gauge Theory and Wilson Fermion Thermodynamics

Abstract

We study the thermal phase diagram of pure SU(3) lattice gauge theory with fundamental and adjoint couplings. We improve previous estimates of the position of the bulk transition line and determine the thermal deconfinement transition lines for $N_t=2,4,6,$ and 8. The endpoint of the bulk transition line $(β_f, β_a)=(4.00(7), 2.06(8))$ improves upon earlier estimates obtained using smaller lattice sizes. For $N_t > 4$ the deconfinement transition line splits cleanly away from the bulk transition line. With increasing $N_t$ the thermal deconfinement transition lines shift to increasingly weaker coupling, joining onto the bulk transition line at increasingly larger $β_a$ in a pattern consistent with the usual universality picture of lattice gauge theories. We also discuss the possible consequences of an induced adjoint term from the fermionic determinant and determine this induced term numerically with a microcanonical demon method for two flavors of dynamical Wilson fermions.