A novel improved action for SU(3) lattice gauge theory

SU(3) lattice gauge theory is studied by means of an improved action where a $2 \times 2$ Wilson loop is supplemented to the standard plaquette term. By contrast to earlier studies using a tree level improvement, the prefactor of the $2 \times 2$ Wilson term is determined by minimizing the breaking of rotational symmetry detected from the static quark-antiquark potential. On coarse lattices, the novel action is superior to the Iwasaki action and comparable with DBW2 action. The scaling behavior of the novel action is studied by using the static quark potential and the ratio of the deconfinement temperature and the string tension.