Structure of Chiral Phase Transitions at Finite Temperature in Abelian Gauge Theories

Abstract

The mechanism of chiral symmetry breaking is investigated in strong-coupling Abelian gauge theories at finite temperature. The Schwinger-Dyson equation in the Landau gauge is employed in the real time formalism and is solved numerically within the framework of the instantaneous exchange approximation, including the effect of the thermal mass for the photon propagator. It is found that the chiral symmetry is broken below the critical temperature T for sufficiently large coupling α. The chiral phase transition is found to be of second order, and the phase diagram in the T-α plane is obtained. It is investigated how the structure of the chiral phase transition is affected by the thermal mass in the photon propagator.