Screening of Very Intense Magnetic Fields by Chiral Symmetry Breaking

Abstract

In very intense magnetic fields, $B > 1.5\times 10^{14}$ T, the breaking of the strong interaction $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ symmetry arranges itself so that instead of the neutral $\sigma$ field acquiring a vacuum expectation value it is the charged $\pi$ field that does and the magnetic field is screened. Details are presented for a magnetic field generated by a current in a wire; we show that the magnetic field is screened out to a distance $\rho_o\sim I/f_\pi m_\pi$ from the wire.