Aharonov-Bohm order parameter
The argument
Because Aharonov-Bohm phases of test quarks around superfluid vortices distinguish Higgs from confining regimes, or in the refined formulation because the phase of a vortex-line operator linking an electric Wilson line distinguishes them, the color-flavor-locked phase carries a gauge-invariant vortex observable that no conventional order parameter captures, and the two superfluids cannot be smoothly connected. The line originates with Cherman, Sen and Yaffe (Physical Review D 100, 034015, 2019), who found anyonic particle-vortex statistics in the color-flavor-locked phase, and continues in the refined vortex-line-operator form of Cherman, Jacobson, Sen and Yaffe (Journal of High Energy Physics 06 (2024) 200).
Does it work?
Not yet evaluated.
Premises
- InconclusiveThe evidence and argument have been examined and do not come down on either side.constitution →Aharonov-Bohm phases of test quarks around superfluid vortices distinguish Higgs from confining regimes
- InconclusiveThe evidence and argument have been examined and do not come down on either side.constitution →The phase of a vortex-line operator linking an electric Wilson line distinguishes Higgs from confining regimes
Where it is made
Passages where sources make, criticize or mention this argument. They record where it appears, not how strong it is, and none has precedence over another.
No source is recorded as making it.
Earlier ratings
- Aug 3, 2026
If either observable genuinely distinguishes the regimes, a sharp distinction follows, so the inference is sound. The original premise, that Aharonov-Bohm phases of test quarks distinguish Higgs from confining regimes, is directly undercut by an explicit lattice calculation showing the phase matches smoothly, so the argument rests almost entirely on the refined premise that the phase of a vortex-line operator linking an electric Wilson line distinguishes the regimes. That premise now stands contested on a specific point: its 2+1-dimensional calculation is accepted by both camps, but whether the nonanalyticity marks a physical distinction turns on a disputed criterion choice, and the extension to 3+1-dimensional CFL-type theories is open. Even granting it, a further caveat applies: a distinction carried by vortex-line operators may mark a vortex-level rather than a bulk distinction, which would weaken what the argument establishes.
- Aug 3, 2026
If either observable genuinely distinguishes the regimes, a sharp distinction between the phases follows, so the inference is sound. The original premise, that Aharonov-Bohm phases of test quarks distinguish Higgs from confining regimes, is directly undercut by Hayashi's explicit lattice calculation showing the phase matches smoothly, so the argument now rests almost entirely on the refined premise that the phase of a vortex-line operator linking an electric Wilson line distinguishes the regimes. That refined premise is a live proposal by the original authors that the community has not yet adjudicated, and a further caveat applies even if it holds: a distinction carried by vortex-line operators may mark a vortex-level rather than a bulk distinction, which would weaken what the argument establishes.