Aspects of Screening and Confinement in a Topologically MassiveU1W×U(1)YChern-Simons-Higgs Theory

Abstract

By using the gauge-invariant but path-dependent variables formalism, we consider a recently proposed topologically massiveU1W×U(1)YChern-Simons-Higgs theory in2+1dimensions. In particular, we inspect the impact of a Chern-Simons mixing term between two Abelian gauge fields on physical observables. We pursue our investigation by analyzing the model in two different situations. In the first case, where we integrate the massive excitation and consider an effective model for the massless field, we show that the interaction energy contains a linear term leading to the confinement of static charge probes along with a screening contribution. In the second situation, where the massless field can be exactly integrated with its constraint duly taken into account, the interesting feature is that the resulting effective model describes a purely screening phase, without any trace of a confining regime.