Gravitational interaction and spontaneous breaking of symmetries

Abhay Ashtekar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

An explicit example of spontaneous symmetry breaking due to gravitational interaction is given. It is shown that, in the framework of quantum field theory in curved space-times, the "dragging of inertial frame" effects lead to a spontaneous symmetry breaking in the ultrarelativistic regime. This situation is compared with those that arise in other interactions. It is pointed out that spinning-up of relativistic configurations is analogous to cooling-down of systems in solid state physics-especially in magnetism-and in high-energy physics. This analogy may turn out to be significant in the investigation of thermodynamical properties of the gravitational field.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3-7
Number of pages5
JournalGeneral Relativity and Gravitation
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1978

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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