Spontaneous symmetry breaking in the present and early universe

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in λφ 4 theory is formulated in terms of the operator φ 2, and in a manner which requires no specific expectation value to be assigned to φ. At the one-loop order of perturbation theory, a renormalized effective action for a field ζ, linearly related to φ 2, is obtained...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNuclear physics. B Vol. 301; no. 4; pp. 685 - 705
Main Author Lawrie, Ian D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 16.05.1988
Elsevier
Subjects
Exact sciences and technology
General relativity and gravitation
Physics
Quantum gravity
Curved space time
Lambda phi 4 theory
Quantum field theory
Symmetry
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Summary:Spontaneous symmetry breaking in λφ 4 theory is formulated in terms of the operator φ 2, and in a manner which requires no specific expectation value to be assigned to φ. At the one-loop order of perturbation theory, a renormalized effective action for a field ζ, linearly related to φ 2, is obtained as a gradient expansion. Potential advantages of this formulation in applications to phase transitions in the early universe are discussed. They include the possibilities (i) of obtaining a well-defined semiclassical equation of motion, and (ii) of following the evolution of a field theory from an initial symmetrical high temperature state without the introduction, ad hoc, of regions in which 〈 φ〉 ≠ 0.
ISSN:0550-3213
1873-1562
DOI:10.1016/0550-3213(88)90282-9