Systems with Symmetry Breaking and Restoration

• Main Author: Vyacheslav I. Yukalov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2010-01-01
• Series: Symmetry
• Subjects: spontaneous symmetry breaking; spontaneous symmetry restoration; weighted Hilbert spaces; ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition; relaxor ferroelectrics
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/2/1/40/
• ISSN: 2073-8994

Statistical systems, in which spontaneous symmetry breaking can be accompanied by spontaneous local symmetry restoration, are considered. A general approach to describing such systems is formulated, based on the notion of weighted Hilbert spaces and configuration averaging. The approach is illustrated by the example of a ferroelectric with mesoscopic fluctuations of paraelectric phase. The influence of the local symmetry restoration on the system characteristics, such as sound velocity and Debye-Waller factor, is discussed.