Field theory for a deuteron quantum liquid

Lasha Berezhiani, Gregory Gabadadze, David Pirtskhalava

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Based on general symmetry principles we study an effective Lagrangian for a neutral system of condensed spin-1 deuteron nuclei and electrons, at greater-than-atomic but less-than-nuclear densities. We expect such matter to be present in thin layers within certain low-mass brown dwarfs. It may also be produced in future shock-wave-compression experiments as an effective fuel for laser-induced nuclear fusion. We find a background solution of the effective theory describing a net spin zero condensate of deuterons with their spins aligned and anti-aligned in a certain spontaneously emerged preferred direction. The spectrum of low energy collective excitations contains two spin-waves with linear dispersions - like in antiferromagnets - as well as gapped longitudinal and transverse modes related to the Meissner effect - like in superconductors. We show that counting of the Nambu- Goldstone modes of spontaneously broken internal and space-time symmetries obeys, in a nontrivial way, the rules of the Goldstone theorem for Lorentz non-invariant systems. We discuss thermodynamic properties of the condensate, and its potential manifestation in the low-mass brown dwarfs.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Article number122
    JournalJournal of High Energy Physics
    Volume2010
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2010

    Keywords

    • Global symmetries
    • Spontaneous symmetry breaking

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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