String tension and monopoles in T ≠ 0 SU(2) QCD

Monopole and photon contributions to abelian Wilson loops are calculated using Monte-Carlo simulations of finite-temperature SU(2) QCD in the maximally abelian gauge. Long monopole loops alone are responsible for the behavior of the string tension in the confinement phase. Short monopole loops and photons do not contribute to the string tension. The abelian and the monopole spatial string tensions (both of which agree with the full ones for β<βc) show a g4(T)T2 scaling behavior in the deconfinement phase. The abelian spatial string tension is in agreement with the full one even in the deconfinement phase.