Speaker
Description
I will discuss theories with the $Z_N$ 1-form symmetry and argue that theories in 4d generically have three phases: the spontaneously broken phase, the restored (confined) phase and the coulomb phase. Natural string-like objects appear in this analysis, which we associate with the center vortices of the corresponding $SU(N)$ gauge theory. In addition the discussion also reveals particle-like objects which are naturally associated with monopoles. We will show that while the condensation of both of these is associated with the confined phase, the condensation of vortices alone causes a massless photon to appear. Since the massless photon phase should be there generically in any system with the same symmetry, I will show that it indeed appears in the $Z_N$ lattice gauge theory.
