Magnetic effects on spontaneous symmetry breaking/restoration in a toroidal topology

We study temperature and finite-size effects on the spontaneous symmetry breaking/restoration for a scalar field model under the influence of an external magnetic field, at finite chemical potential. We use the 2PI formalism and consider the large-$N$ limit. We find that there is a minimal size of the system to sustain the broken phase, which diminishes as the applied field increases but is independent of the chemical potential. We analyze the critical curves and show that the magnetic field enhances the broken-phase regions, while increasing the chemical potential leads to a diminishement of the critical temperature.Comment: Five pages, five figures, version as accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Large-N transition temperature for superconducting films in a magnetic field

We consider the $N$-component Ginzburg-Landau model in the large $N$ limit, the system being embedded in an external constant magnetic field and confined between two parallel planes a distance $L$ apart from one another. On physical grounds, this corresponds to a material in the form of a film in the presence of an external magnetic field. Using techniques from dimensional and $zeta$-function regularization, modified by the external field and the confinement conditions, we investigate the behavior of the system as a function of the film thickness $L$. This behavior suggests the existence of a minimal critical thickness below which superconductivity is suppressed.Comment: Revtex, two column, 4 pages, 2 figure

Gauge Fluctuations in Superconducting Films

In this paper we consider a superconducting film modeled by the Ginzburg-Landau model, confined between two parallel planes a distance $L$ apart from one another. Our approach is based on the Gaussian effective potential in the transverse unitarity gauge, which allows to treat gauge contributions in a compact form. Using techniques from dimensional and $zeta$-function regularizations, modified by the confinement conditions, we investigate the critical temperature as a function of the film thickness $L$. The contributions from the scalar self-interaction and from the gauge fluctuations are clearly identified. The model suggests the existence of a minimal critical thickness below which superconductivity is suppressed.Comment: 6 pages Revtex, no figure

Critical behaviour of the compactified λϕ4\lambda \phi^4 theory

We investigate the critical behaviour of the $N$-component Euclidean $\lambda \phi^4$ model at leading order in $\frac{1}{N}$-expansion. We consider it in three situations: confined between two parallel planes a distance $L$ apart from one another, confined to an infinitely long cylinder having a square cross-section of area $A$ and to a cubic box of volume $V$. Taking the mass term in the form $m_{0}^2=\alpha(T - T_{0})$, we retrieve Ginzburg-Landau models which are supposed to describe samples of a material undergoing a phase transition, respectively in the form of a film, a wire and of a grain, whose bulk transition temperature ($T_{0}$) is known. We obtain equations for the critical temperature as functions of $L$ (film), $A$ (wire), $V$ (grain) and of $T_{0}$, and determine the limiting sizes sustaining the transition.Comment: 12 pages, no figure

Phase transition in the 3-D massive Gross-Neveu model

We consider the 3-dimensional massive Gross-Neveu model at finite temperature as an effective theory for strong interactions. Using the Matsubara imaginary time formalism, we derive a closed form for the renormalized $T$-dependent four-point function. This gives a singularity, suggesting a phase transition. Considering the free energy we obtain the $T$-dependent mass, which goes to zero for some temperature. These results lead us to the conclusion that there is a second-order phase transition.Comment: 06 pages, 02 figures, LATE

A note on the infrared behavior of the compactified Ginzburg--Landau model in a magnetic field

We consider the Euclidean large-$N$ Ginzburg--Landau model in $D$ dimensions, $d$ ($d\leq D$) of them being compactified. For D=3, the system can be supposed to describe, in the cases of d=1, d=2, and d=3, respectively, a superconducting material in the form of a film, of an infinitely long wire having a rectangular cross-section and of a brick-shaped grain. We investigate the fixed-point structure of the model, in the presence of an external magnetic field. An infrared-stable fixed points is found, which is independent of the number of compactified dimensions. This generalizes previous work for type-II superconducting filmsComment: LATEX, 6 pages no figures. arXiv admin note: 80% of text overlaps with arXiv:1102.139