Restoration of U$_A$(1) symmetry and meson spectrum in hot or dense matter

Abstract

We explore the effects of breaking and restoration of chiral and axial symmetries using an extended three-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model that incorporates explicitly the axial anomaly through the 't Hooft interaction. We implement a temperature (density) dependence of the anomaly coefficient motivated by lattice results for the topological susceptibility. The spectrum of scalar and pseudoscalar mesons is analyzed bearing in mind the identification of chiral partners and the study of its convergence. We also concentrate on the behavior of the mixing angles that give us relevant information on the issue under discussion. The results suggest that the axial part of the symmetry is restored before the possible restoration of the full U(3)$\otimes$U(3) chiral symmetry might occur.