Finite temperature effective string corrections in (3+1)D SU(2) lattice gauge theory

We study the effective string corrections to the inter-quark potential at finite temperature by simulating the SU(2) lattice gauge theory in four dimensions. We provide the first numerical evidence that the logarithmic correction to the potential, which was recently proposed to be a signature of the effective string at finite temperature, is universal also in (3+1)D gauge theory, thus extending previous results limited to the (2+1)D case. © 2011 Elsevier B.V