Inspired by the center-vortex dominance in the infrared sector of $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory observed on the lattice, we propose a vacuum wave functional localized on an ensemble of correlated center vortices endowed with stiffness and magnetic monopoles that change the orientation of the vortex flux. In the electric-field representation, this wave functional becomes an effective partition function for N complex scalar fields. The inclusion of both oriented and nonoriented vortices as well as so-called N-vortex matchings leads to an effective potential that has only a center symmetry left. In the center-vortex condensed phase, this symmetry is spontaneously broken. In this case, the Wilson loop average can be approximated by a solitonic saddle point localized around the minimal surface. The asymptotic string tension thus obtained displays Casimir scaling.

In this review, we discuss the present status of the description of confining flux tubes in SU(N) pure Yang–Mills theory in terms of ensembles of percolating center vortices. This is based on three main pillars: modeling in the continuum the ensemble components detected in the lattice, the derivation of effective field representations, and contrasting the associated properties with Monte Carlo lattice results. The integration of the present knowledge about these points is essential to get closer to a unified physical picture for confinement. Here, we shall emphasize the last advances, which point to the importance of including the non-oriented center-vortex component and non-Abelian degrees of freedom when modeling the center-vortex ensemble measure. These inputs are responsible for the emergence of topological solitons and the possibility of accommodating the asymptotic scaling properties of the confining string tension.

A scenario to understand the asymptotic properties of confinement between quark probes, based on a 4D mixed ensemble of percolating center-vortex world surfaces and chains, was initially proposed by one of us in a non-Abelian setting. More recently, the same physics was reobtained by means of a Schrödinger wave functional peaked at Abelian-projected configurations, which deals with center-vortex lines and pointlike monopoles in real space. In this work, we formulate the Abelian-projected ensemble and reassess the non-Abelian one within the Weingarten lattice representation for the sum over surfaces. In the phase where world surfaces are stabilized by contact interactions and percolate, lattice gauge fields emerge. This generalizes the Goldstone modes in an Abelian loop condensate to the case where non-Abelian degrees of freedom are present. In this language, the different natural matching properties of elementary center-vortex world surfaces and monopole worldlines can be easily characterized. In the lattice, the Abelian setting also implements the original idea that the mixed ensemble reconciles N -ality with the formation of a confining flux tube. In this picture, center vortices and chains explain why Abelian-projected variables capture this property at asymptotic distances while simultaneously allowing for a “dual superconductor” description of the fundamental string. Common features, differences in the continuum, and perspectives will also be addressed.

Recently, based on a new procedure to quantize the theory in the continuum, it was argued that Singer’s theorem points toward the existence of a Yang-Mills ensemble. In the new approach, the gauge fields are mapped into an auxiliary field space used to initially determine sectors labeled by center vortices, and then separately fix the gauge on them. In this work, we study this procedure in more detail. We provide examples of configurations belonging to these sectors and discuss the existence of non-Abelian degrees of freedom. Then, we discuss the importance of the mapping injectivity, and show that this property holds infinitesimally for typical configurations of the vortex-free sector and for the simplest example in the one-vortex sector. Finally, we show that these examples are free from Gribov copies.

In this work, we analyze a recent proposal to detect $SU(N)$ continuum Yang-Mills sectors labeled by center vortices, inspired by Laplacian-type center gauges in the lattice. Initially, after the introduction of appropriate external sources, we obtain a rich set of sector-dependent Ward identities, which can be used to control the form of the divergences. Next, we show the all-order multiplicative renormalizability of the center-vortex free sector. These are important steps towards the establishment of a first-principles, well-defined, and calculable Yang-Mills ensemble.

In this work, we analyze a large class of effective Yang-Mills-Higgs models constructed in terms of adjoint scalars. In particular, we reproduce asymptotic properties of the confining string, suggested by lattice simulations of $SU(N)$ pure Yang-Mills theory, in models that are stable in the whole range of Higgs-field mass parameters. These properties include $N$-ality, Abelian-like flux-tube profiles, independence of the profiles with the $N$-ality of the quark representation, and Casimir scaling. We find that although these models are formulated in terms of many fields and possible Higgs potentials, a collective behavior can be established in a large region of parameter space, where the desired asymptotic behavior is realized.