Spontaneous Parity Breaking Research Articles

Symmetry-Enforced Many-Body Separability Transitions

We study quantum many-body mixed states with a symmetry from the perspective of , i.e., whether a mixed state can be expressed as an ensemble of short-range-entangled symmetric pure states. We provide evidence for “symmetry-enforced separability transitions” in a variety of states, where in one regime the mixed state is expressible as a convex sum of symmetric short-range-entangled pure states, while in the other regime, such a representation is not feasible. We first discuss the Gibbs state of Hamiltonians that exhibit spontaneous breaking of a discrete symmetry, and argue that the associated thermal phase transition can be thought of as a symmetry-enforced separability transition. Next we study cluster states in various dimensions subjected to local decoherence, and identify several distinct mixed-state phases and associated separability phase transitions, which also provides an alternative perspective on recently discussed “average symmetry-protected topological order.” We also study decohered p+ip superconductors, and find that if the decoherence breaks the fermion parity explicitly, then the resulting mixed state can be expressed as a convex sum of nonchiral states, while a fermion parity–preserving decoherence results in a phase transition at a nonzero threshold that corresponds to spontaneous breaking of fermion parity. Finally, we briefly discuss systems that satisfy the no low-energy trivial state property, such as the recently discovered good low-density parity-check codes, and argue that the Gibbs state of such systems exhibits a temperature-tuned separability transition. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Leptogenesis in parity solutions to the strong CP problem and Standard Model parameters

We study the simplest theories with exact spacetime parity that solve the strong CP problem and successfully generate the cosmological baryon asymmetry via decays of right-handed neutrinos. Lower bounds are derived for the masses of the right-handed neutrinos and for the scale of spontaneous parity breaking, vR. For generic thermal leptogenesis, vR ≳ 1012 GeV, unless the small observed neutrino masses arise from fine-tuning. We compute vR in terms of the top quark mass, the QCD coupling, and the Higgs boson mass and find this bound is consistent with current data at 1σ. Future precision measurements of these parameters may provide support for the theory or, if vR is determined to be below 1012 GeV, force modifications. However, modified cosmologies do not easily allow reductions in vR — no reduction is possible if leptogenesis occurs in the collisions of domain walls formed at parity breaking, and at most a factor 10 reduction is possible with non-thermal leptogenesis. Standard Model parameters that yield low values for vR can only be accommodated by having a high degree of degeneracy among the right-handed neutrinos involved in leptogenesis. If future precision measurements determine vR to be above 1012 GeV, it is likely that higher-dimensional operators of the theory will yield a neutron electric dipole moment accessible to ongoing experiments. This is especially true in a simple UV completion of the neutrino sector, involving gauge singlet fermions, where the bound from successful leptogenesis is strengthened to vR ≳ 1013 GeV.

Hartree-Fock approach to dynamical mass generation in the generalized ( 2+1 )-dimensional Thirring model

The (2+1)-dimensional generalized massless Thirring model with 4-component Fermi-fields is investigated by the Hartree-Fock method. The Lagrangian of this model is constructed from two different four-fermion structures. One of them takes into account the vector$\times$vector channel of fermion interaction with coupling constant $G_v$, the other - the scalar$\times$scalar channel with coupling $G_s$. At some relation between bare couplings $G_s$ and $G_v$, the Hartree-Fock equation for self-energy of fermions can be renormalized, and dynamical generation of the Dirac and Haldane fermion masses is possible. As a result, phase portrait of the model consists of two nontrivial phases. In the first one the chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken due to dynamical appearing of the Dirac mass term, while in the second phase a spontaneous breaking of the spatial parity $\mathcal P$ is induced by Haldane mass term. It is shown that in the particular case of pure Thirring model, i.e. at $G_s=0$, the ground state of the system is indeed a mixture of these phases. Moreover, it was found that dynamical generation of fermion masses is possible for any finite number of Fermi-fields.

Parity and the origin of neutrino mass

In the LHC era the issue of the origin and nature of neutrino mass has attained a new meaning and a renewed importance. The growing success of the Higgs–Weinberg mechanism behind the charged fermion masses paves the way for answering the question of neutrino mass. We have shown recently how the spontaneous breaking of parity in the context of the minimal left–right symmetric model allows to probe the origin of neutrino mass in complete analogy with the charged fermions masses in the Standard Model. We revisit here this issue and fill in the gaps left in our previous work. In particular we discuss a number of different mathematical approaches to the problem of disentangling the seesaw mechanism and show how a unique analytical solution emerges. Most important, we give all the possible expressions for the neutrino Dirac mass matrix for general values of light and heavy neutrino mass matrices. In practical terms what is achieved is an untangling of the seesaw mechanism with clear and precise predictions testable at hadron colliders such as LHC.

Chiral lattice supersolid on edges of quantum spin Hall samples

We show that edges of Quantum Spin Hall topological insulators represent a natural platform for realization of exotic supersolid phase. On one hand, fermionic edge modes are helical due to the nontrivial topology of the bulk. On the other hand, a disorder at the edge or magnetic adatoms may produce a dense array of localized spins interacting with the helical electrons. The spin subsystem is magnetically frustrated since the indirect exchange favors formation of helical spin order and the direct one favors (anti)ferromagnetic ordering of the spins. At a moderately strong direct exchange, the competition between these spin interactions results in the spontaneous breaking of parity and in the Ising type order of the $z$-components at zero temperature. If the total spin is conserved the spin order does not pin a collective massless helical mode which supports the ideal transport. In this case, the phase transition converts the helical spin order to the order of a chiral lattice supersolid. This represents a radically new possibility for experimental studies of the elusive supersolidity.

Emergent spin-valley-orbital physics by spontaneous parity breaking

The spin–orbit coupling in the absence of spatial inversion symmetry plays an important role in realizing intriguing electronic states in solids, such as topological insulators and unconventional superconductivity. Usually, the inversion symmetry breaking is inherent in the lattice structures, and hence, it is not easy to control these interesting properties by external parameters. We here theoretically investigate the possibility of generating the spin-orbital entanglement by spontaneous electronic ordering caused by electron correlations. In particular, we focus on the centrosymmetric lattices with local asymmetry at the lattice sites, e.g. zigzag, honeycomb, and diamond structures. In such systems, conventional staggered orders, such as charge order and antiferromagnetic order, break the inversion symmetry and activate the antisymmetric spin–orbit coupling, which is hidden in a sublattice-dependent form in the paramagnetic state. Considering a minimal two-orbital model on a honeycomb structure, we scrutinize the explicit form of the antisymmetric spin–orbit coupling for all the possible staggered charge, spin, orbital, and spin-orbital orders. We show that the complete table is useful for understanding of spin-valley-orbital physics, such as spin and valley splitting in the electronic band structure and generalized magnetoelectric responses in not only spin but also orbital and spin-orbital channels, reflecting in peculiar magnetic, elastic, and optical properties in solids.

Flowering to bloom of PeV scale supersymmetric left–right symmetric models

Unified models incorporating right-handed neutrino in a symmetric way generically possess parity symmetry. If this is broken spontaneously, it results in the formation of domain walls in the early Universe, whose persistence is unwanted. A generic mechanism for the destabilization of such walls is a small pressure difference signalled by difference in free energy across the walls. It is interesting to explore the possibility of such effects in conjunction with the effects that break supersymmetry in a phenomenologically acceptable way. This possibility when realized in the context of several scenarios of supersymmetry breaking, leads to an upper bound on the scale of spontaneous parity breaking, often much lower than the GUT scale. In the left–right symmetric models studied, the upper bound is no higher than 1011 GeV but a scale as low as 105 GeV is acceptable.

Spontaneous parity breaking in spin-orbital coupled systems

Effects of spontaneous parity breaking by charge, spin, and orbital orders are investigated in a two-band Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice. This is a minimal model in which the inter-orbital hopping, atomic spin-orbit coupling, and strong electron correlation give rise to fascinating properties, such as the magnetoelectric effects, quantum spin Hall effect, and spin or valley splitting in the band structure. We perform the symmetry analysis of possible broken-parity states and the mean-field analysis of their competition. We find that the model at 1/4 filling exhibits a spin-orbital composite ordered state and a charge ordered state, in addition to a paramagnetic quantum spin-Hall insulator. We show that the composite ordered phase exhibits two types of magnetoelectric responses. The charge ordered state shows spin splitting in the band structure, while the topological nature varies depending on electron correlations.

Holographic spontaneous parity breaking and emergent hall viscosity and angular momentum

We study the spontaneous parity breaking and generating of Hall viscosity and angular momentum in holographic p+ip model, which can describe strongly-coupled chiral superfluid states in many quantum systems. The dual gravity theory, an SU(2) gauge field minimally coupled to Einstein gravity, is parity-invariant but allows a black hole solution with vector hair corresponding to a parity-broken superfluid state. We show that this state possesses a non-vanishing parity-odd transport coefficient -- Hall viscosity -- and an angular momentum density. We first develop an analytic method to solve this model near the critical regime and to take back-reactions into account. Then we solve the equation for the tensor mode fluctuations and obtain the expression for Hall viscosity via Kubo formula. We also show that a non-vanishing angular momentum density can be obtained through the vector mode fluctuations and the corresponding boundary action. We give analytic results of both Hall viscosity and angular momentum density near the critical regime in terms of physical parameters. The near-critical behavior of Hall viscosity is different from that obtained from a gravitational Chern-Simons model. We find that the magnitude of Hall viscosity to angular momentum density ratio is numerically consistent with being equal to 1/2 at large SU(2) coupling corresponding to the probe limit, in agreement with previous results obtained for various quantum fluid systems and from effective theory approaches. In addition, we find the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio remains above the universal bound.

Left-right symmetric theory with light sterile neutrinos

A simple theoretical framework for the spontaneous breaking of parity, baryon and lepton numbers is proposed. In this context, the baryon and lepton numbers are independent local gauge symmetries, while parity is defined making use of the left-right symmetry. We show that in the minimal model the new leptoquark fields needed to define an anomaly-free theory also generate neutrino masses through the type III seesaw mechanism. The spectrum of neutrinos and some phenomenological aspects are discussed. This theory predicts the possible existence of two light sterile neutrinos.

Semimetal-insulator transition on the surface of a topological insulator with in-plane magnetization

A thin film of ferromagnetically ordered material proximate to the surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator explicitly breaks the time-reversal symmetry of the surface states. For an out-of-plane ferromagnetic order parameter on the surface, the parity is also broken since the Dirac fermions become massive. This leads, in turn, to the generation of a topological Chern-Simons term by quantum fluctuations. On the other hand, for an in-plane magnetization the surface states remain gapless for the noninteracting Dirac fermions. In this work we study the possibility of spontaneous breaking of parity due to a dynamical gap generation on the surface in the presence of a local, Hubbard-like interaction of strength $g$ between the Dirac fermions. A gap and a Chern-Simons term are generated for $g$ larger than some critical value ${g}_{c}$, provided the number of Dirac fermions $N$ is odd. For an even number of Dirac fermions the masses are generated in pairs having opposite signs, and no Chern-Simons term is generated. We discuss our results in the context of recent experiments in EuS/Bi${}_{2}$Se${}_{3}$ heterostructures.

Squaring, Parity Breaking, andSTumbling of Vesicles under Shear Flow

The numerical study of 3D vesicles with a reduced volume equal to that of human red blood cells leads to the discovery of three types of dynamics: (i) squaring motion, in which the angle between the direction of the longest distance and the flow velocity undergoes discontinuous jumps over time, (ii) spontaneous parity breaking of the shape leading to cross-streamline migration, and (iii) S tumbling where the vesicle tumbles, exhibiting a pronounced S-like shape with a waisted morphology in the center. We report on the phase diagram within a wide range of relevant parameters. Our estimates reveal that healthy and pathological red blood cells are also prone to these types of motion, which may affect blood microcirculation and impact oxygen transport.

Spontaneous parity breaking, gauge coupling unification, and consistent cosmology with transitory domain walls

The formation of transitory domain walls is quite generic in theories with spontaneous breaking of discrete symmetries. Since these walls are in conflict with cosmology, there has to be some mechanism which makes them disappear. We study one such mechanism by incorporating Planck-scale suppressed operators within the framework of left-right symmetric models where left-right parity (D parity) is spontaneously broken. We find that this mechanism cannot make the walls disappear in minimal versions of left-right symmetric models. We propose two viable extensions of this model and show that Planck-scale suppressed operators can give rise to the successful disappearance of domain walls provided the scale of parity breaking obeys certain limits. We also constrain the scale of parity breaking by demanding successful gauge-coupling unification and make a comparison of the unification and cosmology bounds.

II. The standard model in the isotopic Foldy-Wouthuysen representation without higgs bosons in the fermion sector

The Standard Model with massive fermions is formulated in the isotopic Foldy-Wouthuysen representation. SU(1) × U(1) — invariance of the theory in this representation is independent of whether fermions possess mass or not, and, consequently, it is not necessary to introduce interactions between Higgs bosons and fermions. The study discusses a possible relation between spontaneous breaking of parity in the isotopic Foldy-Wouthuysen representation and the composition of elementary particles of “dark matter”.

Spontaneous parity breaking and supersymmetry breaking in metastable vacua with consistent

We study the compatibility of spontaneous breaking of parity and successful cosmology in a left-right symmetric model where supersymmetry breaking is achieved in metastable vacua. We show that domain walls formed due to this breaking can be removed due to Planck scale suppressed terms, provided the parity breaking scale $M_R$ is constrained to remain smaller than $10^{10}-10^{11}$ GeV. Ensuring metastability is achieved naturally even if the entire mechanism operates at low scales, within a few orders of magnitude of the TeV scale. Taking $M_R$ as high as permitted, close to the acceptable reheat temperature after inflation, would require the magnetic phase of the Supersymmetric Quantum Chromodynamics (SQCD) to have set in before the end of inflation.

SpontaneousR-parity breaking, left-right symmetry, and consistent cosmology with transitory domain walls

Domain wall formation is quite generic in spontaneous Left-Right parity (D-parity) breaking models. Since they are in conflict with cosmology, we need some mechanisms to remove them. Planck scale suppressed effects have been considered to be quite successful for this purpose. We study this possibility in Minimal Supersymmetric Left-Right (SUSYLR) model originally proposed by Kuchimanchi et al \cite{Kuchimanchi:1993jg} where both D-parity and R-parity $(R_p = (-1)^{3(B-L)+2s})$ are spontaneously broken. We find that Planck scale suppressed terms allowed for the specific particle content of this model can successfully remove the domain walls provided the D-parity breaking scale is relatively low $(\leq 10^5-10^7 \text{GeV})$. However, demanding this theory to be part of a grand unified theory such as SO(10) forces the D-parity breaking scale to be very high $(\geq 10^{14} \text{GeV})$ and hence is in conflict with the constraint from domain wall removal. We also find another class of R-parity violating SUSYLR models where both these constraints can be simultaneously satisfied.

Quantum phase transitions about parity breaking in matrix product systems

According to our scheme to construct quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in spin chain systems with matrix product ground states, we first successfully combine matrix product state (MPS) QPTs with spontaneous symmetry breaking. For a concrete model, we take into account a kind of MPS QPTs accompanied by spontaneous parity breaking, though for either side of the critical point the GS is typically unique, and show that the kind of MPS QPTs occur only in the thermodynamic limit and are accompanied by the appearance of singularities, diverging correlation length, vanishing energy gap and the entanglement entropy of a half-infinite chain not only staying finite but also whose first derivative discontinuous.

Competing mechanisms of chiral symmetry breaking in a generalized Gross-Neveu model

Chiral symmetry of the 2-dimensional chiral Gross-Neveu model is broken explicitly by a bare mass term as well as a splitting of scalar and pseudo-scalar coupling constants. The vacuum and light hadrons - mesons and baryons which become massless in the chiral limit - are explored analytically in leading order of the derivative expansion by means of a double sine-Gordon equation. Depending on the parameters, this model features new phenomena as compared to previously investigated 4-fermion models: spontaneous breaking of parity, a non-trivial chiral vacuum angle, twisted kink-like baryons whose baryon number reflects the vacuum angle, crystals with alternating baryons, and appearance of a false vacuum.

Spontaneously broken parity and consistent cosmology with transitory domain walls

Domain wall structure which may form in theories with spontaneously broken parity is generically in conflict with standard cosmology. It has been argued that Planck scale suppressed effects can be sufficient for removing such domain walls. We study this possibility for three specific evolution scenarios for the domain walls, with evolution during a radiation dominated era, during a matter dominated era, and that accompanied by weak inflation. We determine the operators permitted by the supergravity formalism and find that the field content introduced to achieve desired spontaneous parity breaking makes possible Planck scale suppressed terms which can potentially remove the domain walls safely. However, the parity breaking scale, equivalently the Majorana mass scale ${M}_{R}$ of the right-handed neutrino, does get constrained in some of the cases, notably for the matter dominated evolution case which would be generic to string theory inspired models, giving rise to moduli fields. One left-right symmetric model with only triplets and bidoublets is found to be more constrained than another admitting a gauge singlet.

Spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry, and eventually of parity, in a σ-model with two Mexican hats

A sigma-model with two linked Mexican hats is discussed. This scenario could be realized in low-energy QCD when the ground state and the first excited (pseudo)scalar mesons are included, and where not only in the subspace of the ground states, but also in that of the first excited states, a Mexican hat potential is present. This possibility can change some basic features of a low-energy hadronic theory of QCD. It is also shown that spontaneous breaking of parity can occur in the vacuum for some parameter choice of the model.