2003/11/20 by Arttu Rajantie, A. Rajantie, Rajantie, A.
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.hep-ph/0311262
11 pages, 6 figures, revtex. To appear in the proceedings of "Cosmological Phase Transitions and Topological Defects", 22-24 May 2003, Porto, Portugal
arxiv created 2003/11/20 · openalex publication_date 2003/11/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In the first one of these two lectures, I give an introductory review of phase transitions in finite temperature field theories. I highlight the differences between theories with global and local symmetries, and the similarities between cosmological phase transitions and phase transitions in superconductors. In the second one, I review the theory of defect formation in finite temperature phase transitions, emphasising the differences between systems with broken global and local symmetries. These same principles apply to relativistic and condensed matter systems alike.