Large $N$ Phase Transition In The Heat Kernel On The $U(N)$ Group

Abstract

The large N phase transition point is investigated in the heat kernel on the $U(N)$ group with respect to arbitrary boundary conditions. A simple functional relation is found relating the density of eigenvalues of the boundary field to the saddle point shape of the typical Young tableaux in the large $N$ limit of the character expansion of the heat kernel. Both strong coupling and weak coupling phases are investigated for some particular cases of the boundary holonomy.