Multiflavor QCD* on R_3 x S_1: Studying Transition From Abelian to Non-Abelian Confinement

Understand

The center-stabilized multiflavor QCD* theories formulated on R_3 x S_1 exhibit both Abelian and non-Abelian confinement as a function of the S_1 radius, similar to the Seiberg-Witten theory as a function of the mass deformation parameter.

• For sufficiently small number of flavors and small r(S_1), we show occurence of a mass gap in gauge fluctuations, and linear confinement.
• This is a regime of confinement without continuous chiral symmetry breaking (\chi SB).
• Unlike one-flavor theories where there is no phase transition in r(S_1), the multiflavor theories possess a single phase transition associated with breaking of the continuous chiral symmetry.