Phase structure of pure SU(3) lattice gauge theory in 5 dimensions

Abstract: We investigate the nonperturbative phase structure of five-dimensional SU(3) pure Yang-Mills theory on the lattice. We perform numerical simulations using the Wilson plaquette gauge action on an anisotropic lattice with a four-dimensional lattice spacing (a4) and with an independent value in the fifth dimension (a5). We investigate both cases of a4 > a5 and a4 < a5. The Polyakov loops in the fourth and the fifth directions are observed, and we find that there are four possible phases for the anisotropic five-dimensional quenched QCD theory on the lattice. We determine the critical values of the lattice bare coupling and the anisotropy parameter for each phase transition. Furthermore, we find that the two center domains where the Polyakov loop have locally different charges of the center symmetry appears in single configuration in the specific region of the lattice parameters.