Phases and Residual Gauge Symmetries of Higgs Models

Abstract

After elimination of the redundant variables, gauge theories may still exhibit symmetries associated with the gauge fields. The role of these residual gauge symmetries is discussed within the Abelian Higgs model and the Georgi-Glashow model. In the different phases of these models, these symmetries are realized differently. The characteristics of emergence and disappearance of the symmetries are studied in detail and the implications for the dynamics in Coulomb, Higgs, and confining phases are discussed.

30 pages, LaTeX with amsmath macros; updated to include minor corrections in proof; email correspondence to J.W. Negele, [email protected]

References in corpus (3)

• Structure and Dynamics of Monopoles in Axial-Gauge QCD
• Polyakov Loop Dynamics in the Center Symmetric Phase
• Magnetic and Thermodynamic Stability of SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory

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• The (IR-)relevance of the Gribov ambiguity in SU(2) x U(1) gauge theories with fundamental Higgs matter
• Gauge fixing, families index theory, and topological features of the space of lattice gauge fields
• Topological Concepts in Gauge Theories
• Multiple breaking patterns in the Brout-Englert-Higgs effect beyond perturbation theory
• The Fröhlich-Morchio-Strocchi mechanism: A underestimated legacy