String breaking with 2+1 dynamical fermions using the stochastic LapH-method

Abstract

The static potential V(r) between a static quark and a static antiquark separated by a distance r is defined as the energy of the ground state of the system. As a consequence of confinement, the energy between the quark-antiquark pair is contained inside a color flux tube, which will break due to pair creation as soon as the energy is high enough. String breaking is manifested as a quantum-mechanical mixing phenomenon between different states containing two infinitely heavy quarks. We investigate this phenomenon with Nf=2+1 flavors of dynamical fermions in the stochastic LapH framework, using an ensemble of gauge configurations generated through the CLS effort. We observe the effect of the third sea-quark flavor, which results in a second mixing-phenomenon.