Instability of Chern-Simons Theory with Fermions at Large N

Abstract

We study the (in)stability around the dynamical gap solution of the $U(N)$ Chern-Simons gauge theory with fundamental fermions (massless or massive) coupled in $D=3$ at large $N$. Explicit analyses on both the Auxiliary-Field (AF) and the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis (CJT) effective potentials are given. In both approaches we manage to analytically identify the saddle-point instability around the gap solution. We also give a comparison with the QCD-like theories. This study can help understanding the scale symmetry breaking picture of this theory.