Radiatively induced spontaneous symmetry breaking and phase transitions in curved spacetime

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980 · Ann. Phys. (N.Y.); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-4916(80)90326-7· OSTI ID:6674873

Shore, G M

Local gauge symmetries which are spontaneously broken in flat spacetime are shown to be restored for large spactime curvatures. The case of symmetry breaking due to radiative quantum corrections in gauge theories with elementary scalar fields is considered explicity. In spacetimes with a postive Ricci curvature scalar R and a cosmological event horizon, the critical curvature R/sub C/ is of O(m/sub H/ /sup 2/) or O(m/sub w/ /sup 2/), depending on whether the theory is formulated with conformal or minimal scalar fields. In Ricci flat spacetimes with a conventional event horizon the symmetry is expected to be restored when the temperature of the Hawking thermal radiation is of O(m/sub w/). This phenomenon is described in detail, using functional integral methods and dimensional renormalization, for massless scalar electrodynamics in de-Sitter spacetime. For conformal scalars, the symmetry restoring phase transition is first order, the critical curvature being R/sub c/=0.910 m/sub H/ /sup 2/. For minimal scalars, an anomalous, curvature dependent mass counterterm is required. The phase transition in this case is second order, and occurs at R/sub C/=83.57 m/sub w/ /sup 2/. Symmetry restoration at finite temperature in flat spacetime is considered in an appendix. The critical temperature at which a first-order phase transition occurs in the Weinberg-Salam model is found to be T/sub C/=0.329 m/sub w/.

• Research Organization: Lyman Laboratory of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
• OSTI ID: 6674873
• Journal Information: Ann. Phys. (N.Y.); (United States), Journal Name: Ann. Phys. (N.Y.); (United States) Vol. 128:2; ISSN APNYA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

645302 -- High Energy Physics-- Particle Invariance Principles & Symmetries-- Applications to Electromagnetic & Weak Interactions-- (-1987)
645400* -- High Energy Physics-- Field Theory
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
CRITICAL TEMPERATURE
DIAGRAMS
ELECTRODYNAMICS
FEYNMAN DIAGRAM
FUNCTIONS
GAUGE INVARIANCE
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
LAGRANGIAN FUNCTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PARTICLE MODELS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RENORMALIZATION
RICCI TENSOR
SCALAR FIELDS
SPACE-TIME
SYMMETRY BREAKING
TENSORS
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
UNIFIED GAUGE MODELS
VACUUM STATES
WAVE FUNCTIONS
WEINBERG-SALAM GAUGE MODEL