Approximate symmetries, pseudo-Goldstones, and the second law of thermodynamics

Abstract

We propose a general hydrodynamic framework for systems with spontaneously broken approximate symmetries. The second law of thermodynamics naturally results in relaxation in the hydrodynamic equations, and enables us to derive a universal relation between damping and diffusion of pseudo- Goldstones. We discover entirely new physical effects sensitive to explicitly broken symmetries. We focus on systems with approximate U(1) and translation symmetries, with direct applications to pinned superfluids and charge density waves. We also comment on the implications for chiral perturbation theory.