We study the Cherenkov effect in the context of the Maxwell-Chern-Simons (MCS) limit of the Standard Model Extension. We present a method to determine the exact radiation rate for a point charge.
The Maxwell-Chern-Simons gauge theory with charged scalar fields is analyzed at two loop level. The effective potential for the scalar fields is derived in the closed form, and studied both analytically and numerically. It is shown that the U(1) symmetry is spontaneously broken in the massless scalar theory. Dimensional transmutation takes place in the Coleman-Weinberg limit in which the Maxwell term vanishes. We point out the subtlety in defining the pure Chern-Simons scalar electrodynamics and show that the Coleman-Weinberg limit must be taken after renormalization. Renormalization group analysis of the effective potential is also given at two loop.
We study the analytical structure of the fermion propagator in planar quantum electrodynamics coupled to a Chern-Simons term within a four-component spinor formalism. The dynamical generation of parity-preserving and parity-violating fermion mass terms is considered, through the solution of the corresponding Schwinger-Dyson equation for the fermion propagator at leading order of the 1/N approximation in Landau gauge. The theory undergoes a first order phase transition toward chiral symmetry restoration when the Chern-Simons coefficient $theta$ reaches a critical value which depends upon the number of fermion families considered. Parity-violating masses, however, are generated for arbitrarily large values of the said coefficient. On the confinement scenario, complete charge screening --characteristic of the 1/N approximation-- is observed in the entire $(N,theta)$-plane through the local and global properties of the vector part of the fermion propagator.
We derive the off-shell photon propagator and fermion-photon vertex at one-loop level in Maxwell-Chern-Simons quantum electrodynamics in arbitrary covariant gauge, using four-component spinors with parity-even and parity-odd mass terms for both fermions and photons. We present our results using a basis of two, three and four point integrals, some of them not known previously in the literature. These integrals are evaluated in arbitrary space-time dimensions so that we reproduce results derived earlier under certain limits.
We examine the energetics of $Q$-balls in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in two space dimensions. Whereas gauged $Q$-balls are unallowed in this dimension in the absence of a Chern-Simons term due to a divergent electromagnetic energy, the addition of a Chern-Simons term introduces a gauge field mass and renders finite the otherwise-divergent electromagnetic energy of the $Q$-ball. Similar to the case of gauged $Q$-balls, Maxwell-Chern-Simons $Q$-balls have a maximal charge. The properties of these solitons are studied as a function of the parameters of the model considered, using a numerical technique known as relaxation. The results are compared to expectations based on qualitative arguments.
We investigate some aspects of the Maxwell-Chern-Simons electrodynamics focusing on physical effects produced by the presence of stationary sources and a perfectly conducting plate (mirror). Specifically, in addition to point charges, we propose two new types of point-like sources called topological source and Dirac point, and we also consider physical effects in various configurations that involve them. We show that the Dirac point is the source of the vortex field configurations. The propagator of the gauge field due to the presence of a conducting plate and the interaction forces between the plate and point-like sources are computed. It is shown that the image method is valid for the point-like charges as well as for Dirac points. For the topological source we show that the image method is not valid and the symmetry of spatial refection on the mirror is broken. In all setups considered, it is shown that the topological source leads to the emergence of torques.