Ising description of the transition region in SU(3) gauge theory at finite temperature

Abstract

We attempt the numerical construction of an effective action in three dimensions for Ising spins which represent the Wilson lines in the four-dimensional SU(3) gauge theory at finite temperature. For each configuration of the gauge theory, each spin is determined by averaging the Wilson lines over a small neighborhood and then projecting the average to +/-1 according to whether the neighborhood is ordered or disordered. The effective Ising action, determined via the lattice Schwinger-Dyson equations, contains even (two-spin) and odd (one- and three-spin) terms with short range. We find that the truncation to Ising degrees of freedom produces an effective action which is discontinuous across the gauge theory's phase transition. This discontinuity may disappear if the effective action is made more elaborate.