POTENTIAL ENERGY OF YANG–MILLS VORTICES IN THREE AND FOUR DIMENSIONS

We calculate the energy of a Yang–Mills vortex as function of its magnetic flux or as the Wilson loop surrounding the vortex center. The calculation is performed in the one-loop approximation. A parallel line with a potential as function of the Polyakov at nonzero temperatures is drawn. We find that quantized Z(2) vortices are dynamically preferred though vortices with arbitrary fluxes cannot be ruled out.