Catalysis of Dynamical Symmetry Breaking by a Magnetic Field

Abstract

A constant magnetic field in 3+1 and 2+1 dimensions is a strong catalyst of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, leading to the generation of a fermion mass even at the weakest attractive interaction between fermions. The essence of this effect is the dimensional reduction $D/rightarrowD-2$ in the dynamics of fermion pairing in a magnetic field. The effect is illustrated in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and QED. Possible applications of this effect and its extension to inhomogeneous field configurations are discussed.

Comments: Based on a talk given at Yukawa International Seminar'95 "From the Standard Model to Grand Unified Theories",15 pages,Latex