MONTE-CARLO STUDY OF ABELIAN LATTICE GAUGE-THEORIES

Using Monte Carlo techniques, we study the thermodynamics of four-dimensional Euclidean lattice gauge theories, with gauge groups ZN and U(1). For N4 the models exhibit a single first-order phase transition, while for N5 we observe two transitions of higher order. As N increases, one of these transitions moves toward zero temperature, whereas the other remains at finite temperature and survives in the U(1) limit. The behavior of the Wilson loop factor is also analyzed for the Z2 and Z6 models. © 1979 The American Physical Society.