Related papers: Spontaneous symmetry breaking on surface defects
It is well known that continuous symmetries of quantum fields can be realized non-linearly, e.g. in the context of sigma models, and can also be spontaneously broken on non-compact spacetimes. In this note we study how these effects are…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a cornerstone of modern physics, defining a wealth of phenomena in condensed-matter and high-energy physics, and beyond. It requires an infinite number of degrees of freedom, and even then, for continuous…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in quantum systems, such as ferromagnets, is normally described as (or as arising from) degeneracy of the ground state; however, it is well established that this degeneracy only occurs in spatially…
A semiclassical picture of spontaneous symmetry breaking in light front field theory is formulated. It is based on a finite-volume quantization of self-interacting scalar fields obeying antiperiodic boundary conditions. This choice avoids a…
We investigate the spontaneous breaking of subsystem symmetries directly in the context of continuum field theories by calculating the correlation function of charged operators. Our methods confirm the lack of spontaneous symmetry breaking…
We study various aspects of spontaneous symmetry breaking in theories that possess higher-form symmetries, which are symmetries whose charged objects have a dimension $p>0$. We first sketch a proof of a higher version of Goldstone's…
Quantum field theories (QFT) in the presence of defects exhibit new types of anomalies which play an important role in constraining the defect dynamics and defect renormalization group (RG) flows. Here we study surface defects and their…
We examine generalized O'Raifeartaigh models that feature multiple tree-level flat directions and only contain fields with R-charges 0 or 2. We show that spontaneous R-breaking at up to one-loop order is impossible in such theories.…
We review the usual account of the phenomena of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB), pointing out the common misunderstandings surrounding the issue, in particular within the context of quantum field theory. In fact, the common explanations…
We propose a mechanism of R-symmetry breaking in four-dimensional DSB models based on the RG properties of the coupling constants. By constraining the UV sector, we generate new hierarchies amongst the couplings that allow a spontaneously…
One common way to define spontaneous symmetry breaking involves explicit symmetry breaking. This definition can be used in any approach to Effective Field Theory, from perturbation theory to lattice simulations. It allows us to study the…
Two-dimensional sigma models on superspheres $S^{r-1|2s} \cong OSp(r|2s)/OSp(r - 1|2s)$ are known to flow to weak coupling $g_{\sigma} \to 0$ in the IR when $r - 2s < 2$. Their long-distance properties are described by a free 'Goldstone'…
We analyse Coleman's theorem asserting the absence Goldstone bosons and spontaneously broken continuous symmetry in the quantum field theory of a free massless (pseudo)scalar field in 1+1-dimensional space-time (Comm. Math. Phys. 31, 259…
We introduce a model governing the copropagation of two components which represent circular polarizations of light in the optical fiber with relative strength g = 2 of the nonlinear repulsion between the components, and linear coupling…
We introduce the two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii/nonlinear-Schrodinger (GP/NLS) equation with the self-focusing nonlinearity confined to two identical circles, separated or overlapped. The model can be realized in terms of Bose-Einstein…
The Hohenberg--Mermin--Wagner theorem states that there is no spontaneous breaking of continuous symmetries in spatial dimensions $d\leq2$ at finite temperature. At zero temperature, the classical/quantum mapping further implies the absence…
We discuss spontaneously broken quantum field theories with a continuous symmetry group via the constraint effective potential. Employing lattice simulations with constrained values of the order parameter, we demonstrate explicitly that the…
Beginning with Anderson (1972), spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in infinite quantum systems is often put forward as an example of (asymptotic) emergence in physics, since in theory no finite system should display it. Even the…
In a physical system undergoing a continuous quantum phase transition, spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs when certain symmetries of the Hamiltonian fail to be preserved in the ground state. In the traditional Landau theory, a symmetry…
We study spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in inhomogeneous extensions of ${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric field theory models in 4-dimensions. The ${\cal N}=1$ Abelian Higgs model with the inhomogeneous mass parameter and the FI coefficient…