title: From decay to complete breaking: pulling the strings in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory.
abstract: We study {2Q+1} strings connecting two static charges Q in (2+1)D SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. While the fundamental {2} string between two charges Q=1/2 is unbreakable, the adjoint {3} string connecting two charges Q=1 can break. When a {4} string is stretched beyond a critical length, it decays into a {2} string by gluon pair creation. When a {5} string is stretched, it first decays into a {3} string, which eventually breaks completely. The energy of the screened charges at the ends of a string is well described by a phenomenological constituent gluon model.
authors.affiliation: INFN, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano-Bicocca, Edificio U2, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pepe
authors.forename: U-J
authors.initials: UJ
authors.lastname: Wiese