Singular values of the Dirac operator at nonzero density

Abstract

At nonzero density the eigenvalues of the Dirac operator move into the complex plane, while its singular values remain real and nonnegative. In QCD-like theories, the singular-value spectrum carries information on the diquark (or pionic) condensate. We have constructed low-energy effective theories in different density regimes and derived a number of exact results for the Dirac singular values, including Banks-Casher-type relations for the diquark (or pionic) condensate, Smilga-Stern-type relations for the slope of the singular-value density, and Leutwyler-Smilga-type sum rules for the inverse singular values. We also present a rigorous index theorem for non-Hermitian Dirac operators.