Ana Julia Mizher

Chiral transition in a strong magnetic background

The presence of a strong magnetic background can modify the nature and the dynamics of the chiral phase transition at finite temperature. We compute the modified effective potential in the linear sigma model with quarks to one loop in the MS scheme for N{sub f}=2. For fields eB{approx}5m{sub {pi}}{sup 2} and larger a crossover is turned into a weak first-order transition. We discuss possible implications for noncentral heavy ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the Large Hadron Collider and for the primordial QCD transition.

Can a strong magnetic background modify the nature of the chiral transition in QCD

Abstract The presence of a strong magnetic background can modify the nature and the dynamics of the chiral phase transition at finite temperature: for high enough magnetic fields, comparable to the ones expected to be created in noncentral high-energy heavy ion collisions at RHIC and the LHC, the original crossover is turned into a first-order transition. We illustrate this effect within the linear sigma model with quarks to one loop in the MS ¯ scheme for N f = 2 .

CP violation and chiral symmetry restoration in the hot linear sigma model in a strong magnetic background

Abstract We study the effects of CP violation on the nature of the chiral transition within the linear sigma model with two flavors of quarks. The finite-temperature effective potential containing contributions from nontrivial values for the parameter θ is computed to one loop order and their minima structure is analyzed. Motivated by the possibility of observing the formation of CP-odd domains in high-energy heavy ion collisions, we also investigate the behavior of the effective potential in the presence of a strong magnetic background. We find that the nature of the chiral transition is influenced by both θ and the magnetic field.

Langevin dynamics of the pure SU(2) deconfining transition

We investigate the dissipative real-time evolution of the order parameter for the deconfining transition in the pure SU(2) gauge theory. The approach to equilibrium after a quench to temperatures well above the critical one is described by a Langevin equation. To fix completely the Markovian Langevin dynamics we choose the dissipation coefficient, that is a function of the temperature, guided by preliminary Monte Carlo simulations for various temperatures. Assuming a relationship between Monte Carlo time and real time, we estimate the delay in thermalization brought about by dissipation and noise.

Chiral transition with magnetic fields

We study the nature of the chiral transition for an effective theory with spontaneous breaking of symmetry, where charged bosons and fermions are subject to the effects of a constant external magnetic field. The problem is studied in terms of the relative intensity of the magnetic field with respect to the mass and the temperature. When the former is the smallest of the scales, we present a suitable method to obtain magnetic and thermal corrections up to ring order at high temperature. By these means, we solve the problem of the instability in the boson sector for these theories, where the squared masses, taken as functions of the order parameter, can vanish and even become negative. The solution is found by considering the screening properties of the plasma, encoded in the resummation of the ring diagrams at high temperature. We also study the case where the magnetic field is the intermediate of the three scales and explore the nature of the chiral transition as we vary the field strength, the coupling constants and the number of fermions. We show that the critical temperature for the restoration of chiral symmetry monotonically increases from small to intermediate values of the magnetic fields and that this temperature is always above the critical temperature for the case when the magnetic field is absent.

Chiral symmetry restoration and strong CP violation in a strong magnetic background

Motivated by the phenomenological scenario of the chiral magnetic effect that can be possibly found in high-energy heavy ion collisions, we study the role of very intense magnetic fields and strong CP violation in the phase structure of strong interactions and, more specifically, their influence on the nature of the chiral transition. Direct implications for the dynamics of phase conversion and its time scales are briefly discussed. Our results can also be relevant in the case of the early universe.

CP Violation in the Linear Sigma Model

Abstract Motivated by the possibility of the formation of CP-odd domains in heavy ion collisions, we investigate the effects of CP violation on the chiral transition within the linear sigma model with two flavors of quarks. We also study how the CP-odd system is affected by the presence of a strong magnetic field, that is presumably generated in a non-central heavy ion collision. We find that both ingredients play an important role, influencing drastically the nature of the phase transition and the critical temperature.

Dissipation and memory effects in pure glue deconfinement

We investigate the effects of dissipation in the deconfining transition for a pure SU (2) gauge theory. Using an effective model for the order parameter, we study its Langevin evolution numerically, and compare results from local additive noise dynamics to those obtained considering an exponential non-local kernel for early times.

Electric current generation in distorted graphene

Graphene-like materials can be effectively described by quantum electrodynamics in (2+1) dimensions, QED3. In a pristine state, these systems exhibit a symmetry between the nonequivalent Dirac points in the honeycomb lattice. Realistic samples which include distortions and crystalline anisotropies are considered through mass gaps of topological and dynamical nature. In this work, we show that the incorporation of an in-plane uniform external magnetic field on this pseudochiral asymmetric configuration generates a nondissipative electric current aligned with the magnetic field: The pseudochiral magnetic effect (PCME). This scenario resembles the chiral magnetic effect in quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

Phase diagram for charged scalars in a magnetic field at finite temperature

We investigate the nature of the phase transition for charged scalars in the presence of a magnetic background for a theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking. We perform a careful treatment of the negative mass squared as a function of the order parameter and present a suitable method to obtain magnetic and thermal corrections up to ring order for the high temperature limit and the case where the magnetic field strength is larger than the absolute value of the square of the mass parameter. We show that for a given value of the self-coupling, the phase transition is first order for a small magnetic field strength and becomes second order as this last grows. We also show that the critical temperature in the presence of the magnetic field is always below the critical temperature for the case where the field is absent.