Chiral Phase Transition from String Theory

TL;DR

This paper investigates the chiral phase transition in a string theory model, demonstrating that chiral symmetry is broken at low temperatures and restored at high temperatures, with a first-order transition characterized by latent heat.

Contribution

It provides a string theory dual description of chiral symmetry breaking and restoration at finite temperature, revealing the nature of the phase transition.

Findings

Chiral symmetry is broken at low temperatures.

Chiral symmetry is restored above a critical temperature.

The phase transition is of first order with latent heat.

Abstract

The low energy dynamics of a certain D-brane configuration in string theory is described at weak t'Hooft coupling by a non-local version of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. We study this system at finite temperature and strong t'Hooft coupling, using the string theory dual. We show that for sufficiently low temperatures chiral symmetry is broken, while for temperatures larger then the critical value, it gets restored. We compute the latent heat and observe that the phase transition is of the first order.