A non-abelian gap
Correlation falling off a cliff on a log axis with the gap annotated as the slope, beside the SU(2) plaquettes shimmering as a gauge field.
The relation on screen
Non-abelian sectors show a linear potential and a gap, the qualitative signature of confinement.
Symbols
- string tension in seam units
- gap above the vacuum
what to look for · A trend consistent with confinement, measured on a finite lattice. It stops well short of a mass-gap proof.
Consensus to physics
- 01build a finite SU(2) lattice gauge system on the carrier
- 02measure plaquette, Wilson, and Polyakov traces
- 03extract the transfer-operator gap
- 04a positive gap floor means correlations decay exponentially
In standard physics
Yang-Mills confinement and the mass gap
A mass gap: the lightest excitation costs finite energy, so correlations die exponentially instead of trailing off as a power law. That is what makes the strong force short-ranged and what confines quarks into hadrons. This run measures a positive gap floor of 0.12204558 on a finite SU(2) lattice built on the carrier.
boundary · A finite-lattice result at the stated parameters. The continuum limit is a separate question this run does not address.