The string tension from smeared Wilson loops at large N

We present the results of a high statistics analysis of smeared Wilson loops in 4-dimensional SU(N) Yang-Mills theory for various values of N. The data is used to analyze the behavior of smeared Creutz ratios, extracting from them the value of the string tension and other asymptotic parameters. A scaling analysis allows us to extrapolate to the continuum limit for N = 3, 5, 6 and 8. The results are consistent with a 1/N-2 approach towards the large N limit. The same analysis is done for the TEK model (one-point lattice) for N = 841 and a non-minimal symmetric twist with flux of k = 9. The results match perfectly with the extrapolated large N values, confirming the validity of the reduction idea for this range of parameters. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.