N-ality and topology at finite temperature

Abstract

We study the spectrum of confining strings in SU(3) pure gauge theory, in different representations of the gauge group. Our results provide direct evidence that the string spectrum agrees with predictions based on n-ality. We also investigate the large-N behavior of the topological susceptibility $\chi$ in four-dimensional SU(N) gauge theories at finite temperature, and in particular across the finite-temperature transition at $T_c$. The results indicate that $\chi$ has a nonvanishing large-N limit for $T<T_c$, as at T=0, and that the topological properties remain substantially unchanged in the low-temperature phase. On the other hand, above the deconfinement phase transition, $\chi$ shows a large suppression. The comparison between the data for N=4 and N=6 hints at a vanishing large-N limit for $T>T_c$.