Possible second-order phase transition in strongly coupled unquenched planar four-dimensional QED

Journal Article · Sun Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.42.656· OSTI ID:6695119

Oliensis, J ^[1]; Johnson, P W ^[2]

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1. High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL (USA)
2. Physics Department, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL (USA)

We study chiral-symmetry breaking in four-dimensional QED with {ital N} fermion species using truncated Schwinger-Dyson equations, and taking vacuum-polarization effects into account via a momentum-dependent gauge coupling. These effects transmute the infinite-order phase transition found previously for the case of a fixed gauge coupling into a second-order phase transition. For large {ital N}, the phase transition may not exist, as it is determined primarily by the physics at the cutoff. We also carry out a preliminary renormalization-group analysis of the theory near the critical coupling: the results are compatible with the existence of a nontrivial continuum limit for the planar theory at the critical value, with an effectively dimensionless fermion field.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6695119
• Journal Information: Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (USA), Vol. 42:2; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
CHIRAL SYMMETRY
COUPLING
FERMIONS
FOUR-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
GAUGE INVARIANCE
RENORMALIZATION
SYMMETRY BREAKING
VACUUM POLARIZATION
WAVE FUNCTIONS
ELECTRODYNAMICS
FIELD THEORIES
FUNCTIONS
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
SYMMETRY
645400* - High Energy Physics- Field Theory