QFT In the literature: contested

Do center vortices alone give the full SU(3) string tension

In plain words

For two-color gluons, keeping only vortex-like defects of the field reproduces nearly all of the confining force. For three colors, as in real QCD, it is unclear whether they account for all of it.

Precise statement

In 4D pure $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ lattice gauge theory, center projection after maximal center gauge yields a $Z_{3}$ link field whose Wilson loops define a vortex-only string tension $\sigma_{vortex}$. Determine whether $\sigma_{vortex}/\sigma \to 1$ in the continuum limit (lattice spacing $a \to 0$), and whether this ratio is independent of the gauge-fixing procedure and Gribov copies.

What would settle it

A continuum-extrapolated lattice measurement of $\sigma_{\mathrm{vortex}}/\sigma$ with controlled dependence on gauge fixing and smoothing.

Status in the literature

SU(2) shows near-complete vortex dominance; in pure SU(3) projected vortices give about two thirds of the string tension, while with dynamical quarks they reproduce the full value (Biddle, Kamleh, Leinweber 2022); gauge-fixing and smoothing effects remain disputed.