Chiral symmetry restoration and parity mixing

Abstract

We derive the expressions of the vector and axial current from a chiral Lagrangian restricted to nucleons and pions. They display mixing terms between the axial and vector currents. We study the modifications in the nuclear medium of the coupling constants of the axial current, namely the pion decay constant and the nucleonic axial one due to the requirements of chiral symmetry. We express the renormalizations in terms of the local scalar pion density. The latter also governs the quark condensate evolution and we discuss the link between this evolution and the renormalizations. In the case of the nucleon axial coupling constant this renormalization corresponds to a new type of pion exchange currents, with two exchanged pions. We give an estimate for the resulting quenching. Although moderate it helps explaining the quenching experimentally observed.