https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-026-15367-y
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Flux tubes in QCD at finite temperature
1
Department of Physics, University of Washington, 98105, Seattle, WA, USA
2
INFN-Sezione di Bari, 70126, Bari, Italy
3
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Goethe Universität, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
4
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy
5
INFN-Gruppo collegato di Cosenza, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy
a
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Received:
16
October
2025
Accepted:
26
January
2026
Published online:
16
March
2026
Abstract
We present results for the chromo-electric field generated by a static quark–antiquark pair at finite temperature, in lattice QCD with 2+1 dynamical staggered fermions at physical quark masses. We investigate the evolution of the field as the temperature increases through and beyond the chiral transition. For all the temperatures considered we find clear evidence of a chromo-magnetic current and of a longitudinal nonperturbative chromo-electric field that stays almost uniform along the flux tube. In the high-temperature region the magnitude of the flux-tube field is determined by an effective string tension that decreases exponentially as the temperature increases, while the flux-tube width decreases according to an inverse-temperature law. Our results suggest that beyond the chiral pseudocritical temperature the quark-antiquark system can be characterized by a screened string tension.
© The Author(s) 2026
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