Meanfield approximation for field theories on the worldsheet revisited

This work is the continuation of the earlier efforts to apply the mean field approximation to the continuum worldsheet formulation of planar phi(3) theory. The previous attempts were either simple but without solid foundation or better founded but excessively complicated. In this article, we present an approach both simple, and also systematic and well founded. We are able to carry through the leading order mean field calculation analytically, and with a suitable tuning of the coupling constant, we find string formation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.