Author(s): Jan Albert and Alexandre Homrich We consider the Polyakov loop correlator in the confining phase of large $N$ Yang-Mills theory in three and four dimensions. It can be computed by summing over the exchange of closed flux tubes winding around the thermal cycle. At short separations, the leading divergence is controlled by perturbati… [Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 041601] Published Mon Jul 20, 2026