Unveiling confinement in pure gauge SU(3): flux tubes, fields, and magnetic currents

A characteristic signature of quark confinement is the concentration chromoelectric field between a static quark-antiquark pair in flux tube. However, structure this tube, and hence confining force, has not been completely understood. Here we perform new lattice measurements distributions on smeared Monte Carlo ensembles SU(3) gauge theory. On basis these simulations demonstrate that force can be understood using analogy with basic principles electromagnetism as elucidated by Maxwell. We derive chromomagnetic Lorentz density coupling to currents integrate over tube interior obtain Maxwell-like squeezes transverse direction. show strength equal value string tension calculated numerically from midplane quarks, verifying consistency two complementary pictures confinement.