Anomalous decay of pion and eta at finite temperature

Abstract

We study the anomalous decays $\pi^0, \eta \to\gamma\gamma$ in the framework of the three--flavor Nambu--Jona-Lasinio [NJL] model at finite temperature. The similarities and differences between these results and those obtained at zero temperature and finite density are discussed. In both cases the lifetimes of these mesons decrease significantly at the critical point, although this might not be sufficient to observe enhancement of these decays in heavy-ion collisions.