Symmetry Breaking in Quantum Phenomena

Dear Colleagues,

The break of symmetries in physical systems, either in or out of equilibrium, gives rise to a number of phenomena, which allow to probe topological and symmetric properties of the states of the systems, as well as of their underlying field theory. In the case of discrete symmetries, for instance, the presence of a magnetic field breaks the time-reversal symmetry in free space, and the electromagnetic vacuum is said to present magnetic birefringence; likewise, time-reversal violation modifies the Casimir interaction between non-reciprocal media; in magneto-chiral media, it is the simultaneous violation of parity and time reversal that gives rise to a vacuum momentum; and the break of parity in an asymmetrically excited system is at the origin of the apparent violation of the action-reaction principle. In addition, spontaneous symmetry breaking in field theories which undergo either thermal or quantum phase transitions leads to the formation of topological defects such as cosmic strings, domain walls, monopoles, vortices, etc. By studying the properties of the resultant network of topological defects, valuable information about the parameters and the symmetry of the underlying field theory can be extracted.

It is the aim of this Special Issue to gather works on these topics, which provide a representative overview, as well as to stimulate progress in their investigation.

Prof. Luis Miguel Nieto
Dr. Manuel Donaire
Guest Editors

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