Mass Gap without Confinement

Understand

We revisit a one-parameter family of three-dimensional gauge theories with known supergravity duals.

• We show that three infrared behaviors are possible.
• For generic values of the parameter, the theories exhibit a mass gap but no confinement, meaning no linear quark-antiquark potential; for one limiting value of the parameter the theory flows to an infrared fixed point; and for another limiting value it exhibits both a mass gap and confinement.
• Theories close to these limiting values exhibit quasi-conformal and quasi-confining dynamics, respectively.