arXiv subjects

Igor A. Shovkovy

Publications and source records attributed to Igor A. Shovkovy.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Quantum field theory in a magnetic field: From quantum chromodynamics to graphene and Dirac semimetals

A range of quantum field theoretical phenomena driven by external magnetic fields and their applications in relativistic systems and quasirelativistic condensed matter ones, such as graphene and Dirac/Weyl semimetals, are reviewed. We start by introducing the underlying physics of the magnetic catalysis. The dimensional reduction of the low-energy dynamics of relativistic fermions in an external magnetic field is explained and its role in catalyzing spontaneous symmetry breaking is emphasized. The general theoretical consideration is supplemented by the analysis of the magnetic catalysis in quantum electrodynamics, chromodynamics and quasirelativistic models relevant for condensed matter physics. By generalizing the ideas of the magnetic catalysis to the case of nonzero density and temperature, we argue that other interesting phenomena take place. The chiral magnetic and chiral separation effects are perhaps the most interesting among them. In addition to the general discussion of the physics underlying chiral magnetic and separation effects, we also review their possible phenomenological implications in heavy-ion collisions and compact stars. We also discuss the application of the magnetic catalysis ideas for the description of the quantum Hall effect in monolayer and bilayer graphene, and conclude that the generalized magnetic catalysis, including both the magnetic catalysis condensates and the quantum Hall ferromagnetic ones, lies at the basis of this phenomenon. We also consider how an external magnetic field affects the underlying physics in a class of three-dimensional quasirelativistic condensed matter systems, Dirac semimetals. While at sufficiently low temperatures and zero density of charge carriers, such semimetals are expected to reveal the regime of the magnetic catalysis, the regime of Weyl semimetals with chiral asymmetry is realized at nonzero density...

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Magnetic Catalysis: A Review

We give an overview of the magnetic catalysis phenomenon. In the framework of quantum field theory, magnetic catalysis is broadly defined as an enhancement of dynamical symmetry breaking by an external magnetic field. We start from a brief discussion of spontaneous symmetry breaking and the role of a magnetic field in its a dynamics. This is followed by a detailed presentation of the essential features of the phenomenon. In particular, we emphasize that the dimensional reduction plays a profound role in the pairing dynamics in a magnetic field. Using the general nature of underlying physics and its robustness with respect to interaction types and model content, we argue that magnetic catalysis is a universal and model-independent phenomenon. In support of this claim, we show how magnetic catalysis is realized in various models with short-range and long-range interactions. We argue that the general nature of the phenomenon implies a wide range of potential applications: from certain types of solid state systems to models in cosmology, particle and nuclear physics. We finish the review with general remarks about magnetic catalysis and an outlook for future research.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Directional dependence of color superconducting gap in two-flavor QCD in a magnetic field

We study the effect of a magnetic field on the pairing dynamics in two-flavor color superconducting dense quark matter. The study is performed in the weakly coupled regime of QCD at asymptotically high density, using the framework of the Schwinger-Dyson equation in the improved rainbow approximation. We show that the superconducting gap function develops a directional dependence in momentum space. Quasiparticles with momenta perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field have the largest gaps, while quasiparticles with momenta parallel to the field have the smallest gaps. We argue that the directional dependence is a consequence of a long-range interaction in QCD. The quantitative measure of the ellipticity of the gap function is determined by a dimensionless ratio, proportional to the square of the magnetic field and inversely proportional to the fourth power of the quark chemical potential. For magnetic fields in stars, $B\lesssim 10^{18} G$, the corresponding ratio is estimated to be less than about $10^{-2}$, justifying the use of the weak magnetic field limit in all stellar applications.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Axial Anomaly and Chiral Asymmetry in Magnetized Relativistic Matter

The generation of a chiral shift parameter in the normal ground state of magnetized relativistic matter is discussed. The chiral shift contributes to the axial current density, but does not modify the conventional axial anomaly relation. The analysis based on gauge invariant regularization schemes suggests that this finding is also valid in gauge theories. We argue that the chiral shift parameter can affect observable properties of compact stars. In the regime of heavy ion collisions, the chiral shift parameter can modify the key features of the chiral magnetic effect.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Bulk viscosity in the nonlinear and anharmonic regime of strange quark matter

The bulk viscosity of cold, dense three-flavor quark matter is studied as a function of temperature and the amplitude of density oscillations. The study is also extended to the case of two different types of anharmonic oscillations of density. We point several qualitative effects due to the anharmonicity, although quantitatively they appear to be relatively small. We also find that, in most regions of the parameter space, with the exception of the case of a very large amplitude of density oscillations (i.e. 10% and above), nonlinear effects and anharmonicity have a small effect on the interplay of the nonleptonic and semileptonic processes in the bulk viscosity.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2010

Bulk viscosity of spin-one color superconducting strange quark matter

The bulk viscosity in spin-one color-superconducting strange quark matter is calculated by taking into account the interplay between the nonleptonic and semi-leptonic week processes. In agreement with previous studies, it is found that the inclusion of the semi-leptonic processes may result in non-negligible corrections to the bulk viscosity in a narrow window of temperatures. The effect is generally more pronounced for pulsars with longer periods. Compared to the normal phase, however, this effect due to the semi-leptonic processes is less pronounced in spin-one color superconductors. Assuming that the critical temperature of the phase transition is much larger than 40 keV, the main effect of spin-one color superconductivity in a wide range of temperatures is an overall increase of the bulk viscosity with respect to the normal phase. The corresponding enhancement factor reaches up to about 9 in the polar and A-phases, about 25 in the planar phase and about 29 in the CSL phase. This factor is determined by the suppression of the nonleptonic rate in color-superconducting matter and, therefore, may be even larger if all quark quasiparticles happen to be gapped.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Non-leptonic weak processes in spin-one color superconducting quark matter

The non-leptonic weak processes $s+u\to u+d$ and $u+d \to s+u$ are known to dominate the dissipation mechanism responsible for the viscosity of strange quark matter in its normal phase. The rates of such processes remain unknown for many color superconducting phases of quark matter. In this paper, we partially fill up the gap by calculating the difference of the rates of the two non-leptonic weak processes in four transverse spin-one color superconducting phases of quark matter (slightly) out of $β$-equilibrium. The four phases studied are the color-spin locked phase, the polar phase, the planar phase and the {\em A}-phase. In the limit of vanishing color superconducting gap, we reproduce the known results in the normal phase. In the general case, the rates are suppressed relative to the normal phase. The degree of the suppression is determined by the structure of the gap function in momentum space, which in turn is determined by the pairing pattern of quarks. At low temperatures, the rate is dominated by the ungapped modes. In this limit, the strongest suppression of the rate occurs in the color-spin-locked phase, and the weakest is in the polar phase and the {\em A}-phase.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Color-flavor locked superconductor in a magnetic field

We study the effects of moderately strong magnetic fields on the properties of color-flavor locked color superconducting quark matter in the framework of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. We find that the energy gaps, which describe the color superconducting pairing as well as the magnetization, are oscillating functions of the magnetic field. Also, we observe that the oscillations of the magnetization can be so strong that homogeneous quark matter becomes metastable for a range of parameters. We suggest that this points to the possibility of magnetic domains or other types of magnetic inhomogeneities in the quark cores of magnetars.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Magnetization of Color-Flavor Locked Matter

We show that the magnetization in color-flavor locked superconductors can be so strong that homogeneous quark matter becomes metastable for a wide range of magnetic field values. This indicates that magnetic domains or other type of magnetic inhomogeneities can be present in the quark cores of magnetars.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Bound diquarks and their Bose-Einstein condensation in strongly coupled quark matter

We explore the formation of diquark molecules and their Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in the phase diagram of three-flavor quark matter at nonzero temperature, T, and quark chemical potential, mu. Using a quark model with a four-fermion interaction, we identify possible diquark excitations as poles of the microscopically computed diquark propagator. The quark masses are obtained by solving a dynamical equation for the chiral condensate and are found to determine the stability of the diquark excitations. The stability of diquark excitations is investigated in the T-mu plane for different values of the diquark coupling strength. We find that bound diquark molecules appear at small quark chemical potentials at intermediate coupling and that BEC of non-strange diquark molecules occurs if the attractive interaction between quarks is sufficiently strong.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Bose-Einstein condensation of diquark molecules in three-flavor quark matter

We study the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter with three quark flavors at low and intermediate densities and non-zero temperatures in the framework of an NJL-type model with four-point interactions. At large densities, when the interactions are weak due to asymptotic freedom, quarks form loosely bound Cooper pairs. However, when the density decreases, interactions become stronger and quark Cooper pairs transform smoothly into tightly bound diquark molecules. We find that such molecules are stable at low density and temperature and that they dissociate above a temperature $T_{\rm diss}$ of the order of the chiral phase transition temperature $T_c \sim 170$ MeV. We also explore the conditions under which these molecules undergo Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). We find that BEC is only possible if we increase the attractive interaction in the diquark channel to (probably unrealistically) large values.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2007

Bulk viscosity of strange quark matter: Urca versus non-leptonic processes

A general formalism for calculating the bulk viscosity of strange quark matter is developed. Contrary to the common belief that the non-leptonic processes alone give the dominant contribution to the bulk viscosity, the inclusion of the Urca processes is shown to play an important role at intermediate densities when the characteristic r-mode oscillation frequencies are not too high. The interplay of non-leptonic and Urca processes is analyzed in detail

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Bulk viscosity of spin-one color superconductors with two quark flavors

We consider the contribution of the Urca-type processes to the bulk viscosity of several spin-one color-superconducting phases of dense two-flavor quark matter. In the so-called transverse phases which are suggested to be energetically favorable at asymptotic densities, the presence of ungapped quasiparticle modes prevents that spin-one color superconductivity has a large effect on the bulk viscosity. When all modes are gapped, as for one particular color-spin-locked phase, the effect on the viscosity can be quite large, which may have important phenomenological implications.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Stable gapless superconductivity at strong coupling

We study cross-flavor Cooper pairing in a relativistic system of two fermion species with mismatched Fermi surfaces. We find that there exist gapless phases which are characterized by either one or two gapless nodes in the energy spectra of their quasiparticles. An analysis of the current-current correlator reveals that, at strong coupling, both of these gapless phases can be free of magnetic instabilities and thus are stable. This is in contrast to the weak-coupling case where there are always two gapless nodes and the phase becomes magnetically unstable.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

The phase diagram of neutral quark matter: The effect of neutrino trapping

We study the effect of neutrino trapping on the phase diagram of dense, locally neutral three-flavor quark matter within the framework of a Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. In the analysis, dynamically generated quark masses are taken into account self-consistently. The phase diagrams in the plane of temperature and quark chemical potential, as well as in the plane of temperature and lepton-number chemical potential are presented. We show that neutrino trapping favors two-flavor color superconductivity and disfavors the color-flavor-locked phase at intermediate densities of matter. At the same time, the location of the critical line separating the two-flavor color-superconducting phase and the normal phase of quark matter is little affected by the presence of neutrinos. The implications of these results for the evolution of protoneutron stars are briefly discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Phase diagram of neutral quark matter at moderate densities

We discuss the phase diagram of moderately dense, locally neutral three-flavor quark matter using the framework of an effective model of quantum chromodynamics with a local interaction. The phase diagrams in the plane of temperature and quark chemical potential as well as in the plane of temperature and lepton-number chemical potential are discussed.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2006

Neutrino emission and cooling rates of spin-one color superconductors

Neutrino emissivities due to direct Urca processes of several spin-one color-superconducting phases of dense quark matter are calculated. In particular, the role of anisotropies and nodes of the gap functions is analyzed. Results for the specific heat as well as for the cooling rates of the color-spin-locked, planar, polar, and {\it A} phases are presented and consequences for the physics of neutron stars are briefly discussed. Furthermore, it is shown that the {\em A} phase exhibits a helicity order, giving rise to a reflection asymmetry in the neutrino emissivity.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

The phase diagram of neutral quark matter: Self-consistent treatment of quark masses

We study the phase diagram of dense, locally neutral three-flavor quark matter within the framework of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. In the analysis, dynamically generated quark masses are taken into account self-consistently. The phase diagram in the plane of temperature and quark chemical potential is presented. The results for two qualitatively different regimes, intermediate and strong diquark coupling strength, are presented. It is shown that the role of gapless phases diminishes with increasing diquark coupling strength.

hep-ph↗