Related papers: Cosmological Phase Transitions
A mechanism for generating metric perturbations in inflationary models is considered. Long-wavelength inhomogeneities of light scalar fields in a decoupled sector may give rise to superhorizon fluctuations of couplings and masses in the…
These lectures provide a pedagogical introduction to the theory of continuous quantum phase transitions. Various two-dimensional condensed matter systems, such as a superconducting film, a quantum Hall liquid, and an array of Josephson…
In this lecture we discuss the basic ingredients for gauge invariant quantum field theories. We give an introduction to the elements of quantum field theory, to the construction of the basic Lagrangian for a general gauge theory, and…
The different phases of QCD at finite temperature and density lead to interesting effects in cosmology and astrophysics. In this work I review some aspects of the cosmological QCD transition and of astrophysics at high baryon density.
The phase transition calculations are utilized for an in-depth understanding of the thermodynamics of the deconfinement transition to perform the best analysis of the QCD phase diagram. The phenomenological justifications for a mathematical…
If a field theory contains gauged, non-Abelian, bi-fundamental fields i.e. fields that are charged under two separate non-Abelian gauge groups, the transition from a deconfined phase to a hadronic phase may be frustrated. Similar…
We investigate the relationship between ground-state (zero-temperature) quantum phase transitions in systems with variable Hamiltonian parameters and classical (temperature-driven) phase transitions in standard thermodynamics. An analogy is…
Cosmological phase transitions are predicted by Particle Physics models, and have a variety of important cosmological consequences, which depend strongly on the dynamics of the transition. In this work we investigate in detail the general…
This is a review on cosmological perturbation theory. After an introduction, it presents the problem of gauge transformation. Gauge invariant variables are introduced and the Einstein and conservation equations are written in terms of these…
Bubble collisions in cosmological phase transitions are explored, taking the non-abelian character of the gauge fields into account. Both the QCD and electroweak phase transitions are considered. Numerical solutions of the field equations…
We study cosmological phase transitions in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) in light of the Higgs discovery. We use an effective field theory approach to calculate the finite temperature effective potential,…
In the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang, the universe existed in an extremely hot, dense state in which particle interactions occurred not in a vacuum but within a thermal medium. Under such conditions, the standard framework of quantum…
Quantum phase transitions occur at zero temperature when some non-thermal control-parameter like pressure or chemical composition is changed. They are driven by quantum rather than thermal fluctuations. In this review we first give a…
In order to account for the observable Universe, any comprehensive theory or model of cosmology must draw from many disciplines of physics, including gauge theories of strong and weak interactions, the hydrodynamics and microphysics of…
We determine the nature of the QCD transition using lattice calculations for physical quark masses. Susceptibilities are extrapolated to vanishing lattice spacing for three physical volumes, the smallest and largest of which differ by a…
These lecture notes give a pedagogical introduction to phase transitions in disordered quantum systems and to the exotic Griffiths phases induced in their vicinity. We first review some fundamental concepts in the physics of phase…
Thermodynamical properties of the nuclear matter at sub-saturation densities were investigated using a simple van der Waals-like equation of state with an additional term representing the symmetry energy. First-order isospin-asymmetric…
We present a pedagogical overview of recent theoretical work on unconventional quantum phases and quantum phase transitions in condensed matter systems. Strong correlations between electrons can lead to a breakdown of two traditional…
Symmetry-breaking quantum phase transitions play a key role in several condensed matter, cosmology and nuclear physics theoretical models. Its observation in real systems is often hampered by finite temperatures and limited control of the…
In this talk I discuss three main topics concerning the theoretical description and observable signatures of possible phase transitions in nuclear collisions. The first one is related to the multifragmentation of thermalized sources and its…