Dynamical generation of extended structures in field theory

Abstract

In this paper we study the generation of extended structures in field theory through the agency of dynamical symmetry breaking. We generalize Gorkov's derivation of the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superconductivity to relativistic systems by working entirely at the level of the quantum-mechanical action in the presence of a local space-time-dependent mass source. Our approach provides a compact and elegant derivation of the results of Eguchi and Sugawara and also permits an analysis of the utility and range of application of their work.