Spontaneous Breaking of Non-Relativistic Scale Symmetry

Abstract

We analyze the mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking of scale invariance in Galilean invariant field theories. We show that the existence of a dynamic gapless dilaton mode depends on whether the $U(1)$ particle number or the Galilean boost symmetry are spontaneously broken. When both scale and particle number symmetries are spontaneously broken there is one propagating gapless Nambu-Goldstone mode. Its dispersion relation is linear if the chemical potential is nonzero and quadratic otherwise. We discuss the reversibility of RG flows in such theories.