arXiv subjects

K. Splittorff

Publications and source records attributed to K. Splittorff.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

QCD with Bosonic Quarks at Nonzero Chemical Potential

We formulate the low energy limit of QCD like partition functions with bosonic quarks at nonzero chemical potential. The partition functions are evaluated in the parameter domain that is dominated by the zero momentum modes of the Goldstone fields. We find that partition functions with bosonic quarks differ structurally from partition functions with fermionic quarks. Contrary to the theory with one fermionic flavor, where the partition function in this domain does not depend on the chemical potential, a phase transition takes place in the theory with one bosonic flavor when the chemical potential is equal to $m_π/2$. For a pair of conjugate bosonic flavors the partition function shows no phase transition, whereas the fermionic counterpart has a phase transition at $μ= m_π/2$. The difference between the bosonic theories and the fermionic ones originates from the convergence requirements of bosonic integrals resulting in a noncompact Goldstone manifold and a covariant derivative with the commutator replaced by an anti-commutator.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Phase of the Fermion Determinant at Nonzero Chemical Potential

We show that in the microscopic domain of QCD (also known as the $ε$-domain) at nonzero chemical potential the average phase factor of the fermion determinant is nonzero for $μ< m_π/2$ and is exponentially suppressed for larger values of the chemical potential. This follows from the chiral Lagrangian that describes the low-energy limit of the expectation value of the phase factor. Explicit expressions for the average phase factor are derived using a random matrix formulation of the zero momentum limit of this chiral Lagrangian.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2006

Surprises for QCD at Nonzero Chemical Potential

In this lecture we compare different QCD-like partition functions with bosonic quarks and fermionic quarks at nonzero chemical potential. Although it is not a surprise that the ground state properties of a fermionic quantum system and a bosonic quantum system are completely different, the behavior of partition functions with bosonic quarks does not follow our naive expectation. Among other surprises, we find that the partition function with one bosonic quark only exists at nonzero chemical potential if a conjugate bosonic quark and a conjugate fermionic quark are added to the partition function.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Microscopic eigenvalue correlations in QCD with imaginary isospin chemical potential

We consider the chiral limit of QCD subjected to an imaginary isospin chemical potential. In the epsilon-regime of the theory we can perform precise analytical calculations based on the zero-momentum Goldstone modes in the low-energy effective theory. We present results for the spectral correlation functions of the associated Dirac operators.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Extracting $F_π$ from small lattices: unquenched results

We calculate the response of the microscopic Dirac spectrum to an imaginary isospin chemical potential for QCD with two dynamical flavors in the chiral limit. This extends our previous calculation from the quenched to the unquenched theory. The resulting spectral correlation function in the $ε$-regime provides here, too, a new and efficient way to measure $F_π$ on the lattice. We test the method in a hybrid Monte Carlo simulation of the theory with two staggered quarks.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2005

The Sign Problem is the Solution

The unquenched spectral density of the Dirac operator at $μ\neq0$ is complex and has oscillations with a period inversely proportional to the volume and an amplitude that grows exponentially with the volume. Here we show how the oscillations lead to the discontinuity of the chiral condensate.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2005

Chiral Symmetry Breaking at Nonzero Chemical Potential

We consider chiral symmetry breaking at nonzero chemical potential and discuss the relation with the spectrum of the Dirac operator. We solve the so called Silver Blaze Problem that the chiral condensate at zero temperature does not depend on the chemical potential while this is not the case for the Dirac spectrum and the weight of the partition function.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

A New Method for Determining $F_π$ on the Lattice

We derive the two-point spectral correlation function of the Dirac operator with a specific external source in the $ε$-regime of QCD. This correlation function has a unique and strong dependence on $F_π$, and thus provides an novel way to extract $F_π$ from lattice simulations. We test the method in a quenched lattice simulation with staggered fermions.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2005

Lattice simulations of QCD with $μ_B\neq0$ versus phase quenched QCD

Previously published lattice results for QCD at $μ_B\neq0$ are compared to analytic predictions for phase quenched QCD. We observe that the strength of the sign problem in QCD is linked directly to the position of the phase transition line for pion condensation in phase quenched QCD and that the number of terms needed in the Taylor expansion approach depends on the strength of the sign problem. Together this emphasizes the physical importance of the sign problem and helps to clarify the range over which the Taylor expansion approach is practically applicable. Finally, we observe that the positions of the endpoint of the first order chiral phase transition in the QCD phase diagram found in two successive computations by Fodor and Katz are both close to the position of the phase transition line for pion condensation in phase quenched QCD.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2005

Chiral Symmetry Breaking and the Dirac Spectrum at Nonzero Chemical Potential

The relation between the spectral density of the QCD Dirac operator at nonzero baryon chemical potential and the chiral condensate is investigated. We use the analytical result for the eigenvalue density in the microscopic regime which shows oscillations with a period that scales as 1/V and an amplitude that diverges exponentially with the volume $V=L^4$. We find that the discontinuity of the chiral condensate is due to the whole oscillating region rather than to an accumulation of eigenvalues at the origin. These results also extend beyond the microscopic regime to chemical potentials $μ\sim 1/L$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Unquenched QCD Dirac Operator Spectra at Nonzero Baryon Chemical Potential

The microscopic spectral density of the QCD Dirac operator at nonzero baryon chemical potential for an arbitrary number of quark flavors was derived recently from a random matrix model with the global symmetries of QCD. In this paper we show that these results and extensions thereof can be obtained from the replica limit of a Toda lattice equation. This naturally leads to a factorized form into bosonic and fermionic QCD-like partition functions. In the microscopic limit these partition functions are given by the static limit of a chiral Lagrangian that follows from the symmetry breaking pattern. In particular, we elucidate the role of the singularity of the bosonic partition function in the orthogonal polynomials approach. A detailed discussion of the spectral density for one and two flavors is given.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

The Replica Method and Toda Lattice Equations for QCD_3

We consider the epsilon-regime of QCD in 3 dimensions. It is shown that the leading term of the effective partition function satisfies a set of Toda lattice equations, recursive in the number of flavors. Taking the replica limit of these Toda equations allows us to derive the microscopic spectral correlation functions for the QCD Dirac operator in 3 dimensions. For an even number of flavors we reproduce known results derived using other techniques. In the case of an odd number of flavors the theory has a severe sign problem, and we obtain previously unknown microscopic spectral correlation functions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

QCD Dirac Spectra and the Toda Lattice

We discuss the spectrum of the QCD Dirac operator both at zero and at nonzero baryon chemical potential. We show that, in the ergodic domain of QCD, the Dirac spectrum can be obtained from the replica limit of a Toda lattice equation. At zero chemical potential this method explains the factorization of known results into compact and noncompact integrals, and at nonzero chemical potential it allows us to derive the previously unknown microscopic spectral density.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Supersymmetric Quenching of the Toda Lattice Equation

The average of the ratio of powers of the spectral determinants of the Dirac operator in the $ε$-regime of QCD is shown to satisfy a Toda lattice equation. The quenched limit of this Toda lattice equation is obtained using the supersymmetric method. This super symmetric approach is then shown to be equivalent to taking the replica limit of the Toda lattice equation. Among other, the factorization of the microscopic spectral correlation functions of the QCD Dirac operator into fermionic and bosonic partition functions follows naturally from both approaches. While the replica approach relies on an analytic continuation in the number of flavors no such assumptions are made in the present approach where the numbers of flavors in the Toda lattice equation are strictly integer.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Factorization of Correlation Functions and the Replica Limit of the Toda Lattice Equation

Exact microscopic spectral correlation functions are derived by means of the replica limit of the Toda lattice equation. We consider both Hermitian and non-Hermitian theories in the Wigner-Dyson universality class (class A) and in the chiral universality class (class AIII). In the Hermitian case we rederive two-point correlation functions for class A and class AIII as well as several one-point correlation functions in class AIII. In the non-Hermitian case the spectral density of non-Hermitian complex random matrices in the weak non-Hermiticity limit is obtained directly from the replica limit of the Toda lattice equation. In the case of class A, this result describes the spectral density of a disordered system in a constant imaginary vector potential (the Hatano-Nelson model) which is known from earlier work. New results are obtained for the spectral density in the weak non-Hermiticity limit of a quenched chiral random matrix model at nonzero chemical potential. These results apply to the ergodic or $ε$ domain of quenched QCD at nonzero chemical potential. The spectral density obtained is different from the result derived by Akemann for a closely related model, which is given by the leading order asymptotic expansion of our result. In all cases, the replica limit of the Toda lattice equation explains the factorization of spectral one- and two-point functions into a product of a bosonic (noncompact integral) and a fermionic (compact integral) partition function. We conclude that the fermionic, the bosonic and the supersymmetric partition functions are all part of a single integrable hierarchy. This is the reason that it is possible to obtain the supersymmetric partition function, and its derivatives, from the replica limit of the Toda lattice equation.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Impossibility of spontaneously breaking local symmetries and the sign problem

Elitzur's theorem stating the impossibility of spontaneous breaking of local symmetries in a gauge theory is reexamined. The existing proofs of this theorem rely on gauge invariance as well as positivity of the weight in the Euclidean partition function. We examine the validity of Elitzur's theorem in gauge theories for which the Euclidean measure of the partition function is not positive definite. We find that Elitzur's theorem does not follow from gauge invariance alone. We formulate a general criterion under which spontaneous breaking of local symmetries in a gauge theory is excluded. Finally we illustrate the results in an exactly solvable two dimensional abelian gauge theory.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2003

Fluctuation Induced Critical Behavior at Non-Zero Temperature and Chemical Potential

We discuss phase transitions in relativistic systems as a function of both chemical potential and temperature. The presence of a chemical potential explicitly breaks Lorentz invariance and may additionally break other internal symmetries. This introduces new subtleties in the determination of the critical properties. We discuss separately three characteristic effects of a nonzero chemical potential. Firstly, we consider only the explicit breaking of Lorentz invariance using a scalar field theory with a global U(1) symmetry. Secondly, we study the explicit breaking of an internal symmetry in addition to Lorentz invariance using two--color QCD at nonzero baryonic chemical potential. Finally, we consider the spontaneous breaking of a symmetry using three-color QCD at nonzero baryonic and isospin chemical potential. For each case, we derive the appropriate three-dimensional effective theory at criticality and study the effect of the chemical potential on the fixed point structure of the $β$-functions. We find that the order of the phase transition is not affected by the explicit breaking of Lorentz invariance but is sensitive to the breaking of additional symmetries by the chemical potential.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Melting the Diquark Condensate in Two-Color QCD: A Renormalization Group Analysis

We use a Landau theory and the epsilon expansion to study the superfluid phase transition of two-color QCD at nonzero temperature, T, and baryonic chemical potential, mu. At low T, and for N_f flavors of massless quarks, the global SU(N_f) \times SU(N_f) \times U(1) symmetry is spontaneously broken by a diquark condensate down to Sp(N_f) \times Sp(N_f) for any mu > 0. As the temperature increases, the diquark condensate melts, and at sufficiently large T the symmetry is restored. Using renormalization group arguments, we find that in the presence of the chiral anomaly term there can be a second order phase transition when N_f=2 or N_f >= 6, while the transition is first order for N_f=4. We discuss the relevance of these results for the emergence of a tricritical point recently observed in lattice simulations.

hep-ph↗