Mean field at finite temperature and symmetry breaking

For an infinite system of nucleons interacting through a central spin-isospin schematic force we discuss how the Hartree-Fock theory at finite temperature T yields back, in the T=0 limit, the standard zero-temperature Feynman theory when there is no symmetry breaking. The attention is focused on the mechanism of cancellation of the higher order Hartree-Fock diagrams and on the dependence of this cancellation upon the range of the interaction. When a symmetry breaking takes place it turns out that more iterations are required to reach the self-consistent Hartree-Fock solution, because the cancellation of the Hartree-Fock diagrams of order higher than one no longer occurs. We explore in particular the case of an explicit symmetry breaking induced by a constant, uniform magnetic field B acting on a system of neutrons. Here we compare calculations performed using either the single-particle Matsubara propagator or the zero-temperature polarization propagator, discussing under which perturbative scheme they lead to identical results (if B is not too large). We finally address the issue of the spontaneous symmetry breaking for a system of neutrons using the technique of the anomalous propagator: in this framework we recover the Stoner equation and the critical values of the interaction corresponding to a transition to a ferromagnetic phase.     

Chiral symmetry breaking at finite temperature in Coulomb gauge QCD

Chiral symmetry breaking at finite temperature is analysed in Coulomb gauge QCD, using a suitably renormalised gap equation. In Coulomb gauge the gap equation is derived using the Ward identities and the Dyson equations for the vector and axial-vector vertices. Making the ladder approximation to the Bethe-Salpeter kernel relates the chiral symmetry breaking parameters to the static quark potential. It is thus possible to use a confining potential in the analysis of chiral symmetry breaking. We extend this to finite temperature. For a confining potential there is no chiral symmetry restoration at any finite temperature.     

Chiral symmetry breaking and pion properties at finite temperatures

Spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry breaking is analyzed in Coulomb gauge QCD at finite temperatures, using an instantaneous approximation for the quark interaction and incorporating confinement through a running coupling constant. The thermodynamics of the quarks is treated approximatively by assuming that the momentum-dependent constituent quark mass sets the scale for thermodynamic fluctuations of colour singlet excitations. We investigate the class of a temperature independent and a temperature dependent interaction between quarks. In the chiral limit both temperature independent and a smooth temperature dependent interaction yields a second order chiral phase transition with critical exponents close to the values for a BCS super-conductor. For explicit chiral symmetry breaking we find a nearly constant pion mass below the transition temperature, but a strongly overdamped mode above. For a first order deconfining transition in the gluonic sector also the quark sector shows a first order chiral phase transition. The relevance of our results for relativistic heavy ion collisions is briefly discussed.     

Spontaneous scale symmetry breaking in 2+1-dimensional QED at both zero and finite temperature

A complete analysis of dynamical scale symmetry breaking in 2+1-dimensional QED at both zero and finite temperature is presented by looking at solutions to the Schwinger-Dyson equation. In different kinetic energy regimes we use various numerical and analytic techniques (including an expansion in large flavour number). It is confirmed that, contrary to the case of 3+1 dimensions, there is no dynamical scale symmetry breaking at zero temperature, despite the fact that chiral symmetry breaking can occur dynamically. At finite temperature, such breaking of scale symmetry may take place. Received: 17 August 2000 / Revised version: 24 November 2000 / Published online: 23 January 2001     

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in massless field theories,finite temperature and criticality

We study the behaviour at finite temperature of massless field theories exhibiting spontaneously broken solutions. We establish the occurence of a phase transition of the first kind at some critical point T_c which can be calculated to any finite order in perturbation theory. Similarly, perturbative methods can be used for thermodynamic functions in all regions, including the critical region. For the case of a gauge theory, we demonstrate the gauge independence of the critical point, the thermodynamic potentials and the order parameter to all orders of perturbation theory.     

Pion properties at finite isospin chemical potential with isospin symmetry breaking

Pion properties at finite temperature, finite isospin and baryon chemical potentials are investigated within the SU(2) NJL model. In the mean field approximation for quarks and random phase approximation fpr mesons, we calculate the pion mass, the decay constant and the phase diagram with different quark masses for the u quark and d quark, related to QCD corrections, for the first time. Our results show an asymmetry between μI 0 and μI 0 in the phase diagram, and different values for the charged pion mass(or decay constant) and neutral pion mass(or decay constant) at finite temperature and finite isospin chemical potential. This is caused by the effect of isospin symmetry breaking, which is from different quark masses.     

Effects of symmetry breaking in finite quantum systems

The review considers the peculiarities of symmetry breaking and symmetry transformations and the related physical effects in finite quantum systems. Some types of symmetry in finite systems can be broken only asymptotically. However, with a sufficiently large number of particles, crossover transitions become sharp, so that symmetry breaking happens similarly to that in macroscopic systems. This concerns, in particular, global gauge symmetry breaking, related to Bose–Einstein condensation and superconductivity, or isotropy breaking, related to the generation of quantum vortices, and the stratification in multicomponent mixtures. A special type of symmetry transformation, characteristic only for finite systems, is the change of shape symmetry. These phenomena are illustrated by the examples of several typical mesoscopic systems, such as trapped atoms, quantum dots, atomic nuclei, and metallic grains. The specific features of the review are: (i) the emphasis on the peculiarities of the symmetry breaking in finite mesoscopic systems; (ii) the analysis of common properties of physically different finite quantum systems; (iii) the manifestations of symmetry breaking in the spectra of collective excitations in finite quantum systems. The analysis of these features allows for the better understanding of the intimate relation between the type of symmetry and other physical properties of quantum systems. This also makes it possible to predict new effects by employing the analogies between finite quantum systems of different physical nature.     

Symmetry breaking at enhanced symmetry points

The influence of world-sheet boundary condensates on the toroidal compactification of bosonic string theories is considered. At the special points in the moduli space at which the closed-string theory possesses an enhanced unbroken G × G symmetry (where G is a semi-simple product of simply laced groups) a scalar boundary condensate parameterizes the coset G × G/G. Fluctuations around this background define an open-string generalization of the corresponding chiral non-linear sigma model. Tree-level scattering amplitudes of on-shell massless states (‘pions’) reduce to the amplitudes of the principal chiral model for the group G in the low-energy limit. Furthermore, the condition for the vanishing of the renormalization group beta function at one loop results in the familiar equation of motion for that model. The quantum corrections to the open-string theory generate a mixing of open and closed strings so that the coset-space pions mix with the closed-string G × G gauge fields, resulting in a Higgs-like breakdown of the symmetry to the diagonal G group. The case of non-oriented strings is also discussed.     

Chiral symmetry restoration and properties of Goldstone bosons at finite temperature

We study chiral symmetry restoration by analyzing thermal properties of QCD's(pseudo-) Goldstone bosons, especially the pion. The meson properties are obtained from the spectral densities of mesonic imaginary-time correlation functions. To obtain the correlation functions, we solve the Dyson-Schwinger equations and the inhomogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equations in the leading symmetry-preserving rainbow-ladder approximation. In chiral limit, the pion and its partner sigma degenerate at the critical temperature \begin{document}$T_{\rm c}$\end{document}. At \begin{document}$T \gtrsim T_{\rm c}$\end{document}, it was found that the pion rapidly dissociates, which signals deconfinement phase transition. Beyond the chiral limit, the pion dissociation temperature can be used to define the pseudo-critical temperature of the chiral phase crossover, which is consistent with that obtained by the maximum point of chiral susceptibility. A parallel analysis for kaon and pseudoscalar \begin{document}$ s\bar{s} $\end{document} suggests that heavy mesons may survive above \begin{document}$T_{\rm c}$\end{document}.     

Spontaneous symmetry breaking at the fluctuating level

Phase transitions not allowed in equilibrium steady states may happen, however, at the fluctuating level. We observe for the first time this striking and general phenomenon measuring current fluctuations in an isolated diffusive system. While small fluctuations result from the sum of weakly correlated local events, for currents above a critical threshold the system self-organizes into a coherent traveling wave which facilitates the current deviation by gathering energy in a localized packet, thus breaking translation invariance. This results in Gaussian statistics for small fluctuations but non-Gaussian tails above the critical current. Our observations, which agree with predictions derived from hydrodynamic fluctuation theory, strongly suggest that rare events are generically associated with coherent, self-organized patterns which enhance their probability.     

Pion scalar density and chiral symmetry restoration at finite temperature and density

This paper is devoted to the evaluation of the pionic scalar density at finite temperature and baryonic density. We express the latter effect in terms of the nuclear response evaluated in the random phase approximation. We discuss the density and temperature evolution of the pionic density which governs the quark condensate evolution. Numerical evaluations are performed. Received: 7 December 1999 / Accepted: 8 May 2000     

More about chiral symmetry restoration at finite temperature in the planar limit

In the planar limit, in the deconfined phase, the Euclidean Dirac operator has a spectral gap around zero. We show that functions of eigenvalues close to the spectral edge, which are independent of common rescalings and shifts gauge configuration by gauge configuration, have distributions described by a Gaussian Hermitian matrix model. However, combinations of eigenvalues that are scale and shift invariant only on the average, do not match this matrix model.