Symmetry Restoration By Acceleration

Abstract: The restoration of spontaneous symmetry breaking for a scalar field theory for an accelerated observer is discussed by the one-loop effective potential calculation and by considering the effective potential for composite operators. Above a critical acceleration, corresponding to the critical restoration temperature,T_c, for a Minkowski observer by Unruh relation, i.e. a_c/2\pi=T_c, the symmetry is restored. This result confirms other recent calculations in effective field theories that symmetry restoration can occur for an observer with an acceleration larger than some critical value. From the physical point of view, a constant acceleration is locally equivalent to a gravitational field and the critical acceleration to restore the spontaneous symmetry breaking corresponds to a huge gravitational effect which, therefore, prevents boson condensation.