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Persistent URL http://purl.org/net/epubs/work/29619
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Record Id 29619
Title Nonabelian Generalization of Electric-Magnetic Duality - A Brief Review
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Abstract A loop space formulation of Yang-Mills theory high-lighting the significance of monopoles for the existence of gauge potentials is used to derive a generalisation of electric-magnetic duality to the nonabelian theory. The result implies that the gauge symmetry is doubled from SU(N) to SU(N) x SU tilde (N), while the physical degrees of freedom remain the same, so that the theory can be described in terms of either the usual Yang-Mills potential A subscript muon (x) or its dual A tilde subscript muon (x). Nonabelian 'electric' charges appear as sources of A subscript muon but as monopoles of A tilde subscript muon. Although these results have been derived only for classical fields, it is shown for the quantum theory that the Dirac phase factors (or Wilson loops) constructed out of A subscript muon and A tilde subscript muon satisfy the 't Hooft communication relations, so that his results on confinement apply. Hence one concludes, in particular, that since colour SU(3) is confined then dual colour SU tilde (3) is broken. Such predictions can lead to many very interesting physical consequences which are explored in a companion paper.
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Language English (EN)
Type Details URI(s) Local file(s) Year
Report RAL Technical Reports RAL-TR-1999-014. 1999. raltr-1999014.pdf 1999