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So, confinement has obviously been shown by lattice gauge theory to be a predicted aspect of QCD. However, to what extent has it been observed in experimental physics?

ACuriousMind
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ciao
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Confinement, i.e. the fact that bound states in QCD are colour singlets (or in other words: there are no free quarks or gluons) is experimentally well-established. There is no doubt that it is not just a prediction of lattice simulations, but a feature of strongly interacting systems at low energies, as no free quarks (or gluons) have yet been found within the relevant energy regime. An example that free quarks are prohibited by interactions are jets: two quarks which are in the process of being separated quickly turn into hadrons, which are colour-neutral. But just because we observe it experimentally, it does not mean that it is fully understood theoretically. For more details on this issue, see this question (and my answer to it).

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Frederic Brünner
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