Eigenvalue density of Wilson loops in 2D SU(N) YM

In 1981 Durhuus and Olesen (DO) showed that at infinite N the eigenvalue density of a Wilson loop matrix W associated with a simple loop in two-dimensional Euclidean SU(N) Yang-Mills theory undergoes a phase transition at a critical size. The averages of det (z-W), det (z-W) ^-1, and det (1+uW)/(1-vW) at finite N lead to three different smoothed out expressions, all tending to the DO singular result at infinite N. These smooth extensions are obtained and compared to each other.