A study of finite temperature gauge theory in (2+1) dimensions

We determine the critical couplings and the critical exponents of the finite temperature transition in SU(2) and SU(3) pure gauge theory in (2+1) dimensions. The critical exponents are in agreement with those predicted for the universality class of the reduced model for the Polyakov loop. We also measure Wilson loops at T = 0 on a wide range of beta values using APE smearing to improve the signal. We extract the string tension a from a fit to large distances, including a string fluctuation term. With these two entities we calculate T-c/root sigma, which is in astonishing good agreement with the Nambu-Goto string model for SU(3) and only 7% off for SU(2).