O(N) linear sigma model beyond the Hartree approximation at finite temperature

Abstract

We study the O(N) linear sigma model with spontaneous symmetry breaking at finite temperature in the framework of the two-particle point-irreducible (2PPI) effective action. We go beyond the Hartree approximation by including the two-loop contribution, i.e., the sunset diagram. A phase transition of second order is found, whereas it is of first order in the one-loop Hartree approximation. Furthermore, we show the temperature-dependence of the variational mass parameters and comment on their relation to the physical sigma and pion masses.