SciPost Phys. 13, 039 (2022) ·
published 30 August 2022
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We address a subject that could have been analyzed century ago: how does the
universe of general relativity look like when it would have been filled with
solid matter? Solids break spontaneously the translations and rotations of
space itself. Only rather recently it was realized in various context that the
order parameter of the solid has a relation to Einsteins dynamical space time
which is similar to the role of a Higgs field in a Yang-Mills gauge theory.
Such a "crystal gravity" is therefore like the Higgs phase of gravity. The
usual Higgs phases are characterized by a special phenomenology. A case in
point is superconductivity exhibiting phenomena like the Type II phase,
characterized by the emergence of an Abrikosov lattice of quantized magnetic
fluxes absorbing the external magnetic field. What to expect in the
gravitational setting? The theory of elasticity is the universal effective
field theory associated with the breaking of space translations and rotations
having a similar status as the phase action describing a neutral superfluid. A
geometrical formulation appeared in its long history, similar in structure to
general relativity, which greatly facilitates the marriage of both theories.
With as main limitation that we focus entirely on stationary circumstances --
the dynamical theory is greatly complicated by the lack of Lorentz invariance
-- we will present a first exploration of a remarkably rich and often simple
physics of "Higgsed gravity".
SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 11 (2019) ·
published 4 December 2019
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Perhaps the most important aspect of symmetry in physics is the idea that a
state does not need to have the same symmetries as the theory that describes
it. This phenomenon is known as spontaneous symmetry breaking. In these lecture
notes, starting from a careful definition of symmetry in physics, we introduce
symmetry breaking and its consequences. Emphasis is placed on the physics of
singular limits, showing the reality of symmetry breaking even in small-sized
systems. Topics covered include Nambu-Goldstone modes, quantum corrections,
phase transitions, topological defects and gauge fields. We provide many
examples from both high energy and condensed matter physics. These notes are
suitable for graduate students.
