A First Order Transition and Parity Violation in a Color Superconductor

Abstract

In cold, dense quark matter, quarks of different flavor can form Cooper pairs which are antitriplets under color and have total spin $J\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0$. The transition to a phase where strange quarks condense with either up or down quarks is driven first order by the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism. At densities sufficiently high to (effectively) restore the axial $\mathrm{U}(1)$ symmetry, then relative to the ordinary vacuum, the condensation of up with down quarks (effectively) breaks parity spontaneously.