Abstract

Abstract The theory of fermion phase transitions is reviewed from a unified field theoretic standpoint, based on the diagrammatic perturbation expansion of a generalized matrix propagator. Transitions from a normal to a condensed phase are characterized by the spontaneous appearance of long-range order and (in the presence of a suitable infinitesimal external field) broken symmetry. This is illustrated by the ferromagnetic, solid, superconducting and spindensity wave ground states. The phenomenon is explained qualitatively as caused by the creation of a long-range internal field, F, due to the interactions between particles. This field establishes long-range order in the system, and is in turn itself established by the long-range order, in a self-consistent fashion. The mechanism here is expressed quantitatively in terms of a self-consistent Dyson equation relating a generalized matrix propagator, G, to a proper self-energy matrix, Σ. The off-diagonal elements of G describe ‘anomalous’ propagation process...

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