  Using lattice Monte Carlo simulations of SU(3) pure gauge theory, we
determine the spatial distribution of all components of the color fields
created by a static quark and antiquark. We identify the components of the
measured chromoelectric field transverse to the line connecting the
quark-antiquark pair with the transverse components of an effective
Coulomb-like field $\vec{E}^C $ associated with the quark sources. Subtracting
$\vec{E}^C$ from the total simulated chromoelectric field $\vec{E}$ yields a
non-perturbative, primarily longitudinal chromoelectric field $\vec{E}^{NP}$,
which we identify as the confining field. This is the first time that the
chromoelectric field has been separated into perturbative and nonperturbative
components, creating a new tool to study the color field distribution between a
quark and an antiquark, and thus the long distance force between them.
