Chiral Disorder and Diffusion of Light Quarks in the QCD Vacuum

Abstract

We give a pedagogical introduction to the concept that light quarks diffuse in the QCD vacuum following the spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry. By analogy with disordered electrons in metals, we show that the diffusion constant for light quarks in QCD is $D=2F_{\pi}^2/|\la\bar{q}q\to|$ which is about 0.22 fm. We comment on the correspondence between the diffusive phase and the chiral phase as described by chiral perturbation theory, as well as the cross-over to the ergodic phase as described by random matrix theory. The cross-over is identified with the Thouless energy $E_c=D/\sqrt{V_4}$ which is the inverse diffusion time in an Euclidean four-volume $V_4$.