# Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Cooling in Lattice QCD

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how cooling affects chiral symmetry breaking in quenched lattice QCD, revealing persistent symmetry breaking linked to instantons even after extensive cooling, though the condensate diminishes.

## Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the evolution of chiral symmetry breaking under cooling in lattice QCD, highlighting the role of instantons.

## Key findings

- Chiral condensate remains non-zero after over 100 cooling steps.
- Chiral symmetry breaking is associated with instantons.
- Cooling reduces the magnitude of the chiral condensate.

## Abstract

Chiral symmetry breaking is calculated as a function of cooling in quenched lattice QCD. A non-zero signal is found for the chiral condensate beyond one hundred cooling steps, suggesting that there is chiral symmetry breaking associated with instantons. Quantitatively, the chiral condensate in cooled gauge field configurations is small compared to the value without cooling.