Order of the deconfining phase transition in SU(3) lattice gauge theory

Abstract

The nature of the finite-temperature deconfining phase transition is studied by Monte Carlo simulation on lattices ranging over ${8}^{3}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4 to ${36}^{3}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4. The spatial-volume dependence of the susceptibility and the mass gap strongly support a first-order transition. This is corroborated by an explicit construction of the effective Z(3) spin system whose dominant two-spin couplings are found to be all positive.