Effects from inhomogeneities in the chiral transition

Bruno G. Taketani, Eduardo S. Fraga

Published 2006-04-04, updated 2006-10-17Version 2

We consider an approximation procedure to evaluate the finite-temperature one-loop fermionic density in the presence of a chiral background field which systematically incorporates effects from inhomogeneities in the chiral field through a derivative expansion. We apply the method to the case of a simple low-energy effective chiral model which is commonly used in the study of the chiral phase transition, the linear sigma-model coupled to quarks. The modifications in the effective potential and their consequences for the bubble nucleation process are discussed.