Running couplings in equivariantly gauge-fixed SU(N) Yang--Mills theories

In equivariantly gauge-fixed SU(N) Yang--Mills theories, the gauge symmetry is only partially fixed, leaving a subgroup $H\subset SU(N)$ unfixed. Such theories avoid Neuberger's nogo theorem if the subgroup $H$ contains at least the Cartan subgroup $U(1)^{N-1}$, and they are thus non-perturbatively well defined if regulated on a finite lattice. We calculate the one-loop beta function for the coupling $\tilde{g}^2=\xi g^2$, where $g$ is the gauge coupling and $\xi$ is the gauge parameter, for a class of subgroups including the cases that $H=U(1)^{N-1}$ or $H=SU(M)\times SU(N-M)\times U(1)$. The coupling $\tilde{g}$ represents the strength of the interaction of the gauge degrees of freedom associated with the coset $SU(N)/H$. We find that $\tilde{g}$, like $g$, is asymptotically free. We solve the renormalization-group equations for the running of the couplings $g$ and $\tilde{g}$, and find that dimensional transmutation takes place also for the coupling $\tilde{g}$, generating a scale $\tilde{\Lambda}$ which can be larger than or equal to the scale $\Lambda$ associated with the gauge coupling $g$, but not smaller. We speculate on the possible implications of these results.Comment: 14 pages, late

Phase switching in a voltage-biased Aharonov-Bohm interferometer

Recent experiment [Sigrist et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 036805 (2007)] reported switches between 0 and $\pi$ in the phase of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of the two-terminal differential conductance through a two-dot ring with increasing voltage bias. Using a simple model, where one of the dots contains multiple interacting levels, these findings are explained as a result of transport through the interferometer being dominated at different biases by quantum dot levels of different "parity" (i.e. the sign of the overlap integral between the dot state and the states in the leads). The redistribution of electron population between different levels with bias leads to the fact that the number of switching events is not necessarily equal to the number of dot levels, in agreement with experiment. For the same reason switching does not always imply that the parity of levels is strictly alternating. Lastly, it is demonstrated that the correlation between the first switching of the phase and the onset of the inelastic cotunneling, as well as the sharp (rather than gradual) change of phase when switching occurs, give reason to think that the present interpretation of the experiment is preferable to the one based on electrostatic AB effect.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Chiral Transition of SU(4) Gauge Theory with Fermions in Multiple Representations

We report preliminary results on the finite temperature behavior of SU(4) gauge theory with dynamical quarks in both the fundamental and two-index antisymmetric representations. This system is a candidate to present scale separation behavior, where fermions in different representations condense at different temperature or coupling scales. Our simulations, however, reveal a single finite-temperature phase transition at which both representations deconfine and exhibit chiral restoration. It appears to be strongly first order. We compare our results to previous single-representation simulations. We also describe a Pisarski-Wilczek stability analysis, which suggests that the transition should be first order.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Presented at at Lattice 2017, the 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, Granada, Spain, 18-24 June 201

Spin-Orbit-Induced Magnetic Anisotropy for Impurities in Metallic Samples I. Surface Anisotropy

Motivated by the recent measurements of Kondo resistivity in thin films and wires, where the Kondo amplitude is suppressed for thinner samples, the surface anisotropy for magnetic impurities is studied. That anisotropy is developed in those cases where in addition to the exchange interaction with the impurity there is strong spin-orbit interaction for conduction electrons around the impurity in the ballistic region. The asymmetry in the neighborhood of the magnetic impurity exhibits the anisotropy axis $n$ which, in the case of a plane surface, is perpendicular to the surface. The anisotropy energy is $\Delta E=K_d (nS)^2$ for spin $S$, and the anisotropy constant $K_d$ is inversionally proportional to distance $d$ measured from the surface and $K_d>0$. Thus at low temperature the spin is frozen in a singlet or doublet of lowest energy. The influence of that anisotropy on the electrical resistivity is the subject of the following paper (part II).Comment: 28 pages, RevTeX (using epsfig), 8 eps figures included, submitted to PR

Constraints on the Existence of Chiral Fermions in Interacting Lattice Theories

It is shown that an interacting theory, defined on a regular lattice, must have a vector-like spectrum if the following conditions are satisfied: (a)~locality, (b)~relativistic continuum limit without massless bosons, and (c)~pole-free effective vertex functions for conserved currents. The proof exploits the zero frequency inverse retarded propagator of an appropriate set of interpolating fields as an effective quadratic hamiltonian, to which the Nielsen-Ninomiya theorem is applied.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, WIS--93/56--JUNE--P