Finite-temperature chiral transition in QCD with quarks in the fundamental and adjoint representation

Basile, Francesco and Pelissetto, Andrea and Vicari, Ettore (2005) Finite-temperature chiral transition in QCD with quarks in the fundamental and adjoint representation. PoS - Proceedings of Science, LAT200 . p. 199. ISSN 1824-8039

Abstract

We study the nature of the finite-temperature chiral transition in QCD with N_f light quarks in the fundamental and adjoint representation. Universality and renormalization-group (RG) arguments show that the possibility of having a continuous transition is related to the existence of a stable fixed point (FP) in the RG flow of a 3D Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson Phi^4 theory with the same chiral symmetry-breaking pattern. The RG flow of these theories is studied by field-theoretical approaches, computing and analyzing high-order perturbative series, up to six loops. According to this RG analysis, the transition in QCD can be continuous only for N_f=2. In this case it belongs to the 3D O(4) universality class. We also find a stable FP corresponding to a 3D universality class with symmetry breaking U(2)_L x U(2)_R -> U(2)_V, which implies that the transition can be continuous also if the axial-anomaly effects are suppressed at Tc. In the case of quarks in the adjoint representation, we can have a continuous transition for N_f=1,2. For N_f=1 it belongs to the O(3) universality class. For N_f=2 it belongs to a new 3D universality class characterized by the symmetry breaking SU(4)->SO(4).

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