Asymmetric hermitian matrix models and fuzzy field theory

Abstract: We analyze two types of hermitian matrix models with asymmetric solutions. One type breaks the symmetry explicitly with an asymmetric quartic potential. We give the phase diagram of this model with two different phase transitions between the one cut and two cut solutions. The second type, describing real scalar field theory on fuzzy spaces, breaks the symmetry spontaneously with multitrace terms. We present two methods to study this model, one direct and one using a connection with the first type of models. We analyze the model for the fuzzy sphere and obtain a phase diagram with the location of the triple point in a good agreement with the most recent numerical simulations.