572 research outputs found
PT symmetry and large-N models
Recently developed methods for PT-symmetric models can be applied to
quantum-mechanical matrix and vector models. In matrix models, the calculation
of all singlet wave functions can be reduced to the solution a one-dimensional
PT-symmetric model. The large-N limit of a wide class of matrix models exists,
and properties of the lowest-lying singlet state can be computed using WKB. For
models with cubic and quartic interactions, the ground state energy appears to
show rapid convergence to the large-N limit. For the special case of a quartic
model, we find explicitly an isospectral Hermitian matrix model. The Hermitian
form for a vector model with O(N) symmetry can also be found, and shows many
unusual features. The effective potential obtained in the large-N limit of the
Hermitian form is shown to be identical to the form obtained from the original
PT-symmetric model using familiar constraint field methods. The analogous
constraint field prescription in four dimensions suggests that PT-symmetric
scalar field theories are asymptotically free.Comment: 15 pages, to be published in J. Phys. A special issue on Pseudo
Hermitian Hamiltonians in Quantum Physic
Complete High Temperature Expansions for One-Loop Finite Temperature Effects
We develop exact, simple closed form expressions for partition functions
associated with relativistic bosons and fermions in odd spatial dimensions.
These expressions, valid at high temperature, include the effects of a
non-trivial Polyakov loop and generalize well-known high temperature
expansions. The key technical point is the proof of a set of Bessel function
identities which resum low temperature expansions into high temperature
expansions. The complete expressions for these partition functions can be used
to obtain one-loop finite temperature contributions to effective potentials,
and thus free energies and pressures.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX, no figures. To be published in Phys. Rev D. v2 has
revised introduction and conclusions, plus a few typographical errors are
corrected; v3 corrects one typ
All Hermitian Hamiltonians Have Parity
It is shown that if a Hamiltonian is Hermitian, then there always exists
an operator P having the following properties: (i) P is linear and Hermitian;
(ii) P commutes with H; (iii) P^2=1; (iv) the nth eigenstate of H is also an
eigenstate of P with eigenvalue (-1)^n. Given these properties, it is
appropriate to refer to P as the parity operator and to say that H has parity
symmetry, even though P may not refer to spatial reflection. Thus, if the
Hamiltonian has the form H=p^2+V(x), where V(x) is real (so that H possesses
time-reversal symmetry), then it immediately follows that H has PT symmetry.
This shows that PT symmetry is a generalization of Hermiticity: All Hermitian
Hamiltonians of the form H=p^2+V(x) have PT symmetry, but not all PT-symmetric
Hamiltonians of this form are Hermitian
The Finite Temperature SU(2) Savvidy Model with a Non-trivial Polyakov Loop
We calculate the complete one-loop effective potential for SU(2) gauge bosons
at temperature T as a function of two variables: phi, the angle associated with
a non-trivial Polyakov loop, and H, a constant background chromomagnetic field.
Using techniques broadly applicable to finite temperature field theories, we
develop both low and high temperature expansions. At low temperatures, the real
part of the effective potential V_R indicates a rich phase structure, with a
discontinuous alternation between confined (phi=pi) and deconfined phases
(phi=0). The background field H moves slowly upward from its zero-temperature
value as T increases, in such a way that sqrt(gH)/(pi T) is approximately an
integer. Beyond a certain temperature on the order of sqrt(gH), the deconfined
phase is always preferred. At high temperatures, where asymptotic freedom
applies, the deconfined phase phi=0 is always preferred, and sqrt(gH) is of
order g^2(T)T. The imaginary part of the effective potential is non-zero at the
global minimum of V_R for all temperatures. A non-perturbative magnetic
screening mass of the form M_m = cg^2(T)T with a sufficiently large coefficient
c removes this instability at high temperature, leading to a stable
high-temperature phase with phi=0 and H=0, characteristic of a
weakly-interacting gas of gauge particles. The value of M_m obtained is
comparable with lattice estimates.Comment: 28 pages, 5 eps figures; RevTeX 3 with graphic
Phenomenological Equations of State for the Quark-Gluon Plasma
Two phenomenological models describing an SU(N) quark-gluon plasma are
presented. The first is obtained from high temperature expansions of the free
energy of a massive gluon, while the second is derived by demanding color
neutrality over a certain length scale. Each model has a single free parameter,
exhibits behavior similar to lattice simulations over the range T_d - 5T_d, and
has the correct blackbody behavior for large temperatures. The N = 2
deconfinement transition is second order in both models, while N = 3,4, and 5
are first order. Both models appear to have a smooth large-N limit. For N >= 4,
it is shown that the trace of the Polyakov loop is insufficient to characterize
the phase structure; the free energy is best described using the eigenvalues of
the Polyakov loop. In both models, the confined phase is characterized by a
mutual repulsion of Polyakov loop eigenvalues that makes the Polyakov loop
expectation value zero. In the deconfined phase, the rotation of the
eigenvalues in the complex plane towards 1 is responsible for the approach to
the blackbody limit over the range T_d - 5T_d. The addition of massless quarks
in SU(3) breaks Z(3) symmetry weakly and eliminates the deconfining phase
transition. In contrast, a first-order phase transition persists with
sufficiently heavy quarks.Comment: 22 pages, RevTeX, 9 eps file
Fluctuations and the QCD phase diagram
In this contribution the role of quantum fluctuations for the QCD phase
diagram is discussed. This concerns in particular the importance of the matter
back-reaction to the gluonic sector. The impact of these fluctuations on the
location of the confinement/deconfinement and the chiral transition lines as
well as their interrelation are investigated. Consequences of our findings for
the size of a possible quarkyonic phase and location of a critical endpoint in
the phase diagram are drawn.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physics of Atomic Nucle
Calculation of the Hidden Symmetry Operator in PT-Symmetric Quantum Mechanics
In a recent paper it was shown that if a Hamiltonian H has an unbroken PT
symmetry, then it also possesses a hidden symmetry represented by the linear
operator C. The operator C commutes with both H and PT. The inner product with
respect to CPT is associated with a positive norm and the quantum theory built
on the associated Hilbert space is unitary. In this paper it is shown how to
construct the operator C for the non-Hermitian PT-symmetric Hamiltonian
using perturbative techniques. It
is also shown how to construct the operator C for
using nonperturbative methods
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