Global symmetry breaking in two-dimensional flat spacetime and in de Sitter spacetime

Journal Article · Thu May 15 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Phys. Rev. D; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.33.2833· OSTI ID:5928850

Ford, L H; Vilenkin, A

The breaking of global continuous symmetries in two-dimensional flat spacetime and in four-dimensional de Sitter spacetime is investigated. Infrared divergences require physically allowable quantum states in these spaces to break Lorentz or de Sitter invariance, resulting in two-point functions which are explicitly time dependent. Field expectation values which break the global symmetry must decay in time, but it is possible to have a state which exhibits broken symmetry for a finite time. It is also possible for field correlations and energy density produced by a broken-symmetry state to persist after the symmetry has been restored.

• Research Organization: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155
• OSTI ID: 5928850
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. D; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. D; (United States) Vol. 33:10; ISSN PRVDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640106* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Cosmology
645400 -- High Energy Physics-- Field Theory
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
BOSONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
GOLDSTONE BOSONS
INFRARED DIVERGENCES
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
LIE GROUPS
LORENTZ INVARIANCE
METRICS
POSTULATED PARTICLES
PROPAGATOR
SCALAR FIELDS
SPACE-TIME
SYMMETRY BREAKING
SYMMETRY GROUPS
U GROUPS
U-1 GROUPS
UNIVERSE
VACUUM STATES