Aspects of Chiral Symmetry Breaking in Gauge Field Theories

In this thesis we study the mechanisms of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in gauge field theories. We focus on the general relationship between dynamical mass generation and the formation of bound states in theories not having elementary scalars. In that context we demonstrate that the fermion-pair condensate offers a good qualitative description of the vacuum in the strong coupling regime of chiral theories. We analyze three types of interaction: short-range, confining and long-range unconfining, and show that three different mechanisms cause the condensation. The analysis is extended to finite temperatures and densities where we study chiral symmetry restoration. Finally, we investigate the interplay between chiral symmetry, supersymmetry and finite temperature effects in a supersymmetric extension of QED in three dimensions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Kocić, Aleksandar

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kogut, John,

• Physics, Elementary Particles and High Energy

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8803092

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/77414