Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1981. p. 347-364.
The one-dimensional Coulomb system is known to have equilibrium states with nonvanishing electric field. These states are shown here to be analogous, and related, to the teta vacua which have been discussed for gauge theories in two or more space-time dimensions. The system exhibits confinement of fractional charges, which we dicuss with the purpose of offering a simple example of the teta-vacua phenomenology. Precise relations and connections between one-dimensional Coulomb gases and two-dimensional Abelian gauge theories, and quantum-mechanical matter systems, are discussed.