Wilson loops in the abelian lattice Higgs model

Abstract: We consider the lattice Higgs model on $\mathbb{Z}<sup>4$, with structure group given by $\mathbb{Z}_n$ for $n \geq 2$. We compute the expected value of the Wilson loop observable to leading order when the gauge coupling constant and hopping parameter are both sufficiently large. The leading order term is expressed in terms of a quantity arising from the related but much simpler $\mathbb{Z}_n$ model, which reduces to the Ising model when $n=2$. As part of the proof, we construct a coupling between the lattice Higgs model and the $\mathbb{Z}_n$ model.