Abstract Matter-free lattice gauge theories (LGTs) provide an ideal setting to understand confinement to deconfinement transitions at finite temperatures, which is typically due to the spontaneous breakdown (at large temperatures) of the center symmetry associated with the gauge group. Close to the transition, the relevant degrees of freedom (Polyakov loop) transform under these center symmetries, and the effective theory depends on only the Polyakov loop and its fluctuations.
