Flux Tube Confinement & String Breaking

In QCD, gluon flux forms a tube between quarks giving a linear potential V(r)=σr. When the string energy exceeds 2m_q, it breaks by pair creation. Watch the confining string form, stretch, and snap.

QCD Parameters

String tension σ: 0.18 GeV² Quark mass m_q: 0.30 GeV Coulomb coeff α_s: 0.25 Separation r: 0.80 fm

V(r) = −α_s/r + σ·r + C
Break point: — fm
String energy: — GeV
Status: Confined