Coherent center domains in SU(3) gluodynamics and their percolation at Tc

For SU(3) lattice gauge theory we study properties of static quark sources represented by local Polyakov loops. We find that for temperatures both below and above T-c coherent domains exist where the phases of the local loops have similar values in the vicinity of the center values 0, +/- 2 pi/3. The cluster properties of these domains are studied numerically. We demonstrate that the deconfinement transition of SU(3) may be characterized by the percolation of suitably defined clusters. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.