Partial quenching and chiral symmetry breaking

TL;DR

This paper challenges a key assumption in partially quenched chiral perturbation theory by providing a counterexample where the expected chiral condensate does not form with non-degenerate sea quarks.

Contribution

It presents a counterexample demonstrating that the valence condensate may not form in certain non-degenerate sea quark configurations, questioning a common assumption.

Findings

Counterexample shows absence of valence condensate with non-degenerate sea quarks

Challenges the assumption of chiral symmetry breaking in all partially quenched scenarios

Implications for the validity of standard chiral perturbation theory approaches

Abstract

Partially quenched chiral perturbation theory assumes that valence quarks propagating on gauge configurations prepared with sea quarks of different masses will form a chiral condensate as the valence quark mass goes to zero. I present a counterexample involving non-degenerate sea quarks where the valence condensate does not form.