Quantum chromodynamics, antiferromagnets and XY models from a unified point of view

Abstract

Antiferromagnets and quantum XY magnets in three space dimensions are described by an effective Lagrangian that exhibits the same structure as the effective Lagrangian of quantum chromodynamics with two light flavors. These systems all share a spontaneously broken internal symmetry O(N)→O(N−1). Although the respective scales differ by many orders of magnitude, the general structure of the low-temperature expansion of the partition function is the same. In the nonabelian case (N≥3), logarithmic terms of the form T8ln⁡T emerge at three-loop order, while for N=2 the series only involves powers of T2. The manifestation of the Goldstone boson interaction in the pressure, order parameter, and susceptibility is explored in presence of an external field.