Patterns of Symmetry Breaking in Chiral "QCD"

Abstract

We consider $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory with massless chiral fermions in a complex representation of the gauge group. The main emphasis is on the so-called hybrid psi-chi-eta model. The possible patterns of realization of the continuous chiral flavor symmetry are discussed. We argue that the chiral symmetry is broken in conjunction with a dynamical Higgsing of the gauge group (complete or partial) by bi-fermion condensates. As a result a color-flavor locked symmetry is preserved. The 't Hooft anomaly matching proceeds via saturation of triangles by massless composite fermions or, in a mixed mode, i.e., also by the "weakly" coupled fermions associated with dynamical Abelianization, supplemented by a number of Nambu-Goldstone mesons. Gauge-singlet condensates are of the multifermion type and, though it cannot be excluded, the chiral symmetry realization via such gauge invariant condensates is more contrived (requires a number of four-fermion condensates simultaneously and, even so, problems remain), and less plausible. We conclude that in the model at hand, chiral flavor symmetry implies dynamical Higgsing by bifermion condensates.