The aim of the project is to contribute to the solution of some problems related to the confinement of quarks and gluons in QCD, in particular in the following three areas:

• theoretical understanding of the confinement mechanism, testing ideas of models using the lattice formulation of QCD and an effective model of continuum QCD;
• investigation of temperature dependence of characteristics of mesons and their radial excitations in a model, incorporating basic features of low-energy QCD;
• analysis of experimental data on heavy-ion collisions, with particular emphasis on signals of the quark-gluon plasma formation, using a simple model of the space-time evolution of the collision.

• Investigation of models of confinement based on center-vortex condensation and on dual superconductivity using methods of lattice QCD.
• Estimate of the flux-tube width in the confinement phase, dependence of the Debye mass, gluon masses and other quantities characterizing QCD phase transition on temperature within an effective model of continuum QCD which reproduces results of lattice QCD.
• Calculation of strong and radiative meson decays, spectra of scalar mesons, pion and kaon polarizations and their temperature dependence; description of radial excitations of pseudoscalar mesons within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.
• Analysis of experimental data from heavy-ion collisions, in particular of possible signals of quark-gluon-plasma formation, using a simple model of the space-time evolution of collisions; further development of the interferometric method for analyzing correlations of produced particles.

• 1997:

1. O. A. Borisenko and J. Bohácik.
   Invariant measure in hot gauge theories.
   Physical Review D56 (1997) 5086-5096.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9607001.)
   
2. O. A. Borisenko, V. K. Petrov, G. M. Zinovjev and J. Bohácik.
   Phase structure and confinement properties of noncompact gauge theories.
   Jadernaja fizika 60 (1997) 1693-1706.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9508001.)
   
3. O. A. Borisenko, V. K. Petrov, G. M. Zinovjev and J. Bohácik.
   Phase structure and confinement properties of noncompact gauge theories: Z(N) Wilson loop and effective noncompact model.
   Jadernaja fizika 60 (1997) 1901-1913.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9602001.)
   
4. L. Del Debbio, M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Some cautionary remarks on Abelian projection and Abelian dominance.
   Nuclear Physics (Proc. Suppl.) B53 (1997) 141-147.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9607053.)
   
5. L. Del Debbio, M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Center dominance and Z₂ vortices in SU(2) lattice gauge theory.
   Phys. Rev. D55 (1997) 2298-2306.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9610005.)
   
6. P. Filip and J. Pisút.
   Hadron formation time and dilepton mass spectra in heavy ion collisions.
   Physics Letters B411 (1997) 187-192.
   (Archive: nucl-th/9705051.)
   
7. J. Masarik, A. Nogová, J. Pisút and N. Pisútová.
   Resonance decays, correlations and intermittency in hadronic collisions.
   Zeitschrift fur Physik C75 (1997) 95-106.
   
8. J. Masarik, A. Nogová, J. Pisút and N. Pisútová.
   What is the time of particle production in hadronic collisions?
   Acta Physica Slovaca 47 (1997) 63-79.
   

• 1998:

1. L. Del Debbio, M. Faber, J. Giedt, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Detection of center vortices in the lattice Yang-Mills vacuum.
   Physical Review D58 (1998) 094501 (1-15).
   (Archive: hep-lat/9801027.)
   
2. L. Del Debbio, M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Center dominance, center vortices, and confinement.
   In: New Developments in Quantum Field Theory, ed. Poul Henrik Damgaard and Jerzy Jurkiewicz (Plenum Press, New York-London, 1998) 47-64.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9708023.)
   
3. L. Del Debbio, M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Center vortices and the asymptotic string tension.
   Nuclear Physics (Proc. Suppl.) B63 (1998) 552-554.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9709032.)
   
4. L. Del Debbio, M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Center dominance, Casimir scaling, and confinement in lattice gauge theory.
   In: Theory of Elementary Particles, ed. H. Dorn, D. Luest and G. Weigt (WILEY-VCH, Berlin, 1998) 233-240.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9802003.)
   
5. D. Ebert, M. Nagy and M. K. Volkov.
   Excited pions, rho- and omega-mesons and their decays in a chiral SU(2)xSU(2) Lagrangian.
   International Journal of Modern Physics A13 (1998) 5443-5458.
   (Archive: hep-ph/9705334.)
   
6. M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Casimir scaling from center vortices: Towards an understanding of the adjoint string tension.
   Physical Review D57 (1998) 2603-2609.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9710039.)
   
7. M. Siket, J. Masarik, A. Nogová, J. Pisút and N. Pisútová.
   Bose-Einstein correlations due to resonance production and space-time evolution of hadronic collisions.
   Acta Physica Slovaca 48 (1998) 563-581.
   

• 1999:

1. R. Bertle, M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   The structure of projected center vortices in lattice gauge theory.
   Journal of High Energy Physics 03 (1999) 019.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9903023.)
   
2. R. Bertle, M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   The structure of projected center vortices at zero and finite temperature.
   Preprint (1999), to appear in Nuclear Physics (Proc. Suppl.) B.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9909002.)
   
3. T. D. Blokhintseva, Yu. S. Surovtsev and M. Nagy.
   Inverse pion electroproduction, nucleon structure and the first radial pion excitation.
   Acta Physica Slovaca 49 (1999) 351-364.
   
4. M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Evidence for a center vortex origin of the adjoint string tension.
   Acta Physica Slovaca 49 (1999) 177-184.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9807008.)
   
5. M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Asymptotic scaling, Casimir scaling, and center vortices.
   Nuclear Physics (Proc. Suppl.) B73 (1999) 572-574.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9809053.)
   
6. M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   Center projection with and without gauge fixing.
   Journal of High Energy Physics 01 (1999) 008.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9810008.)
   
7. M. Faber, J. Greensite and S. Olejník.
   First evidence for center dominance in SU(3) lattice gauge theory.
   Preprint (1999), to appear in Physics Letters B.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9911006.)
   
8. M. Faber, J. Greensite, S. Olejník and D. Yamada.
   Some insights into the method of center projection.
   Preprint (1999), to appear in Nuclear Physics (Proc. Suppl.) B.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9908020.)
   
9. M. Faber, J. Greensite, S. Olejník and D. Yamada.
   The vortex-finding property of maximal center (and other) gauges.
   Journal of High Energy Physics 12 (1999) 012.
   (Archive: hep-lat/9910033.)
   
10. M. Faber, J. Greensite, S. Olejník and D. Yamada.
    Some pieces of lattice evidence in favor of the center-vortex picture of color confinement.
    Preprint (1999), to appear in Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop ``Lattice Fermions and Structure of the Vacuum''.
    (Archive: hep-lat/9912002.)
    
11. A. N. Ivanov, M. Nagy and N. I. Troitskaya.
    Effective quark model with chiral U(3)xU(3) symmetry for baryon octet and decuplet.
    Physical Review C59 (1999) 451-459.
    (Archive: hep-ph/9805348.)
    
12. M. K. Volkov, M. Nagy and V. L. Yudichev.
    Scalar mesons in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with the `t Hooft interaction.
    Il Nuovo Cimento A112 (1999) 225-232.
    (Archive: hep-ph/9804347.)
    
13. M. K. Volkov, M. Nagy and V. L. Yudichev.
    Masses and decays of the scalar mesons in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.
    In: XI International Conference "Problems of Quantum Field Theory", ed. B. M. Barbashov, G. V. Efimov and A. V. Efremov (JINR, Dubna, 1999) 466-471.
    
14. M. K. Volkov, V. L. Yudichev and M. Nagy.
    Decays of excited pseudoscalar and vector mesons in the chiral U(3)xU(3) model.
    Preprint (1999).