On Non-Abelian Thomas-Fermi Screening

TL;DR

This paper explores the screening mechanisms of non-Abelian gauge fields in quark matter, relating effective mass terms to topological actions like Chern-Simons and Wess-Zumino-Witten, enhancing understanding of non-Abelian plasma behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a novel perspective linking non-Abelian screening to topological field theories, providing a new theoretical framework for understanding gauge field screening in quark matter.

Findings

Effective mass terms relate to Chern-Simons eikonal

Screening described via Wess-Zumino-Witten action

Provides a theoretical basis for non-Abelian plasma screening

Abstract

The Thomas-Fermi screening of non-Abelian gauge fields by fermions or screening of gluon fields in quark matter is discussed. It is described by an effective mass term which is, as with hard thermal loops, related to the eikonal for a Chern-Simons theory and the Wess-Zumino-Witten action.