Charged states in \(\mathbb Z_ 2\) gauge theories (Q791117)

The general problem of existence of charged states in a gauge theory with matter fields is investigated on the example of the \(\mathbb Z_ 2\) lattice gauge theory with \(\mathbb Z_ 2\) Higgs fields (gauge coupling \(\beta_ g\), Higgs coupling \(\beta_ h).\) First it is shown that no local fields creating charged states exist. Then the connection between the quantum field theoretic and statistical mechanics formulation of the \(\mathbb Z_ 2\) theory is reviewed in some detail. In order to construct charged states a sequence of gauge invariant states is considered, which describes a pair of charges separated by an increasing distance such that their energy is uniformly bounded. It is shown that the sequence converges (in the sense of expectation values) to a state which in the screening/confinement region \((\beta_ g\) small or \(\beta_ h\) large) is in the vacuum sector, whereas in the so-called free charge region \((\beta_ g\) large and \(\beta_ h\) small; this region is sometimes also called Higgs region) it is in a new sector disjoint from the vacuum sector. Thus in the latter case the limit state may be interpreted as a charged state. It gives rise, via the GNS construction, to a translation covariant representation with a positive Hamiltonian. The limit \(c\) of the vacuum component of the vectors representing the states in the approximating sequence can be used as an order parameter that distinguishes between the free-charge phase and the screening/confinement phase; \(c\neq 0\) indicates the absence of charged states, while \(c=0\) indicates the existence of charged states with finite energy. In the appendices the general theory of polymer expansions is reviewed, and a new proof for the convergence is given. Then several combinatorial estimates are presented. Using these pieces of information, new estimates of the convergence region of the expansion for the free charge phase are given.