Percolation of vortices in the 3D Abelian lattice Higgs model

The compact Abelian Higgs model is simulated on a cubic lattice where it possesses vortex lines and pointlike magnetic monopoles as topological defects. The focus of this high-precision Monte Carlo study is on the vortex network, which is investigated by means of percolation observables. In the region of the phase diagram where the Higgs and confinement phases are separated by a first-order transition, it is shown that the vortices percolate right at the phase boundary, and that the first-order nature of the transition is reflected by the network. In the crossover region; where the phase boundary ceases to be first order, the vortices are shown to still percolate. In contrast to other observables, the percolation observables show finite-size scaling. The exponents characterizing the critical behavior of the vortices in this region are shown to fall in the random percolation universality class. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.