text:
# 1 The omega decay width Γ_𝜔 vs. temperature

The hadronic phase of QCD presumably undergoes a transition towards chiral restoration and deconfinement at temperatures around $`T_C150160`$ MeV, according to lattice QCD thermodynamics with three quark flavours . Changes of vector meson spectra in a thermally excited hadronic environment are discussed as possible pre-signatures for such a transition. In this paper we investigate the spectral function of the $`\omega `$ meson as it evolves with increasing temperature $`T`$. Our tool is thermal field theory based on an effective Lagrangian of interacting pions and vector mesons. At high temperatures, the primary decay $`\omega 3\pi `$ should be modified by the presence of thermally excited pions. In addition, reactions such as $`\omega \pi \pi \pi `$ in the pionic heat bath are now possible. The resulting thermal broadening of the $`\omega `$ meson spectrum should be of some relevance to $`e^+e^{}`$ production in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions at the CERN-SPS and at RHIC.

The primary decay mode of the $`\omega `$ meson in vacuum is $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^0\pi ^{}`$ with a branching ratio of 89% and a width $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\omega 3\pi }`$ 7.6 MeV. The $`\omega `$ coupling to pions involves two parts: an anomalous direct $`\omega 3\pi `$ interaction and a two-step interaction $`\omega \rho \pi 3\pi `$ (the Gell-Mann, Sharp, Wagner (GSW) process ) in which the second step includes the $`\rho \pi \pi `$ decay. The effective Lagrangian describing the decay dynamics is taken from ref.:

$`_{int}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{G}{f_\pi }}ϵ^{\mu \nu \alpha \beta }_\mu \omega _\nu (_\alpha \rho _\beta ^{}\pi ^++_\alpha \rho _\beta ^0\pi ^0+_\alpha \rho _\beta ^+\pi ^{})`$ (1)
$`+i{\displaystyle \frac{H}{f_\pi ^3}}ϵ^{\mu \nu \alpha \beta }\omega _\mu _\nu \pi ^+_\alpha \pi ^0_\beta \pi ^{}`$
$`ig\rho _\mu ^0(\pi ^+^\mu \pi ^{}\pi ^{}^\mu \pi ^+)+\mathrm{},`$
with the pion decay constant $`f_\pi `$ = 92.4 MeV. The constants $`G=1.2`$ and $`H=0.18`$ are determined by the branching between $`\omega \rho \pi `$ and the direct $`\omega 3\pi `$ channel, while $`g6`$ reproduces the $`\rho \pi \pi `$ decay width.
The self-energy of the $`\omega `$ meson in the thermal environment is represented as a tensor $`\mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }(E,\stackrel{}{p};T)`$ as a function of the $`\omega `$ four-momentum $`p=(E,\stackrel{}{p})`$ and the temperature $`T`$. The heat bath defines a distinguished frame of reference, and Lorentz invariance is broken. In the present paper we consider the $`\omega `$ meson at rest with respect to the heat bath, i.e. with $`\stackrel{}{p}=0`$. In this case the longitudinal and transverse parts, $`\mathrm{\Pi }_L`$ and $`\mathrm{\Pi }_T`$, of the $`\omega `$ meson self-energy coincide, and there is a single scalar function,

$$\mathrm{\Pi }(E,T)\frac{1}{3}\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu ^\mu (E,\stackrel{}{p}=0;T),$$
(2)
which summarizes the complete information about the in-medium interactions of the $`\omega `$ meson.
We use real-time thermal field theory  to derive the temperature dependent $`\omega `$ meson spectral function. Within this framework the thermal $`\omega `$ meson propagator,

$$𝐃=𝐃_F+𝐃_F(i𝚷)𝐃,$$
(3)
as well as the self-energy $`𝚷`$ are represented in the form of 2 x 2 matrices. Diagonalisation of $`𝐃`$ yields the self-energy function $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ of eq.(2) which describes the thermal decays $`\omega \pi \pi \pi `$ as well as $`\omega \pi \pi \pi `$.
Let the pion four-momenta be denoted by $`q_i=(E_i,\stackrel{}{q}_i)`$ with $`i=1,2,3`$. Then the imaginary part of $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ becomes 444This relation is actually valid for $`n`$-particle decays when the upper limit 3 in sums and products is replaced by $`n`$.

$`\text{Im}\mathrm{\Pi }(p)={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left({\displaystyle \underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}}{\displaystyle }{\displaystyle \frac{d^3q_i}{2E_i(2\pi )^3}}\right)(2\pi )^4\times `$ (4)
$`\times `$ $`\left\{\delta ^{(4)}(p{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}q_i)|(p{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}q_i)|^2\left({\displaystyle \underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}}(1+n_i){\displaystyle \underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}}n_i\right)+\mathrm{}\right\},`$
where the dots indicate all permutations with $`q_iq_i`$ and corresponding re-arrangements of the Bose factors

$$n_if_B(E_i)=\frac{1}{e^{\beta E_i}1},$$

with $`\beta =1/T`$. Explicitly,

$`\text{Im}\mathrm{\Pi }(p)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{8(2\pi )^5}}{\displaystyle }{\displaystyle \frac{d^3q_1}{E_1}}{\displaystyle }{\displaystyle \frac{d^3q_2}{E_2}}{\displaystyle }{\displaystyle \frac{d^3q_3}{E_3}}\times `$ (5)
$`\times `$ $`\left\{\delta ^{(4)}(pq_1q_2q_3)|(p,q_1,q_2,q_3)|^2((1+n_1)(1+n_2)(1+n_3)n_1n_2n_3)\right)`$
$`+\delta ^{(4)}(pq_1q_2+q_3)|(p,q_1,q_2,q_3)|^2\left((1+n_1)(1+n_2)n_3n_1n_2(1+n_3)\right)`$
$`+\text{permutations}\},`$
which includes the $`\omega \pi _1\pi _2\pi _3`$ channel together with the $`\omega \pi _3\pi _1\pi _2`$ reaction, and permutations thereof, in the heat bath of thermally excited pions.
The matrix element $``$ is calculated using the interaction Lagrangian (1):

$$(p,q_1,q_2,q_3)=\frac{H}{f_\pi ^3}+\frac{2Gg}{f_\pi }\underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}\frac{1}{(pq_i)^2m_\rho ^2\mathrm{\Pi }_\rho (pq_i)}.$$
(6)
The second term involves $`\pi \rho `$ intermediate states, with $`m_\rho =770`$ MeV, and the zero temperature self-energy $`\mathrm{\Pi }_\rho `$ given explicitly in ref. where a detailed discussion of the matrix element (6) can be found. Note that through the replacement $`q_iq_i`$ for one of the pion momenta, the process $`\omega \pi \rho \pi \pi `$ is included. We have assumed that effects of temperature on intermediate $`\rho `$ mesons are small (suppressed as $`e^{m_\rho /T}`$) in the temperature range $`T150`$ MeV that we are interested in.
The thermal $`\omega `$ meson width is

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega (T)=\frac{\text{Im}\mathrm{\Pi }(E=m_\omega ,\stackrel{}{p}=0;T)}{m_\omega }$$

at the physical $`\omega `$ mass $`m_\omega `$ which is now also temperature-dependent. The explicit calculation for the $`\omega `$ meson at rest ($`p=(m_\omega ,0,0,0)`$) leads to the result

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega =\frac{m_\omega }{192\pi ^3}\left(_1+3_2\right),$$

with

$`_1`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\mathrm{\Delta }_1}{}}𝑑E_+𝑑E_{}\left(\stackrel{}{q}_+^{2}\stackrel{}{q}_{}^{2}(\stackrel{}{q}_+\stackrel{}{q}_{})^2\right)|(p,q_+,q_0,q_{})|^2n(E_+,E_{},m_\omega ),`$
$`_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\mathrm{\Delta }_2}{}}𝑑E_+𝑑E_{}\left(\stackrel{}{q}_+^{2}\stackrel{}{q}_{}^{2}(\stackrel{}{q}_+\stackrel{}{q}_{})^2\right)|(p,q_+,q_0,q_{})|^2(1)n(E_+,E_{},m_\omega ).`$ (7)
Here, $`E_\pm `$ and $`\stackrel{}{q}_\pm `$ are the energies and momenta of the two charged pions in the final state. To keep our notation short, we have introduced the function

$`n(E_+,E_{},m_\omega )`$ $`=`$ $`[1+f_B(E_+)][1+f_B(E_{})][1+f_B(m_\omega E_+E_{})]`$
$`f_B(E_+)f_B(E_{})f_B(m_\omega E_+E_{}).`$
In eq.(7), $`_1`$ describes the process of a Bose-enhanced three-pion decay of the $`\omega `$ meson where $`n(E_+,E_{},m_\omega )`$ accounts for the characteristic Bose factors. The kinematically allowed integration region in the $`E_+E_{}`$ plane, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_1`$, is the same as in the $`T=0`$ case for the decay process. It is limited to $`m_\pi E_\pm m_\omega 2m_\pi `$ and $`2m_\pi E_++E_{}m_\omega m_\pi `$ with the constraint $`\stackrel{}{q}_+^{2}\stackrel{}{q}_{}^{2}(\stackrel{}{q}_+\stackrel{}{q}_{})^2>0`$.
To interpret the term $`3_2`$ in eq.(7), we note that

$`n(E_+,E_{},\omega )`$ $`=`$ $`[1+f_B(E_+)][1+f_B(E_{})]f_B(E_++E_{}\omega )`$ (8)
$`f_B(E_+)f_B(E_{})[1+f_B(E_++E_{}\omega )]`$
by using $`1+f_B(E)+f_B(E)=0`$. Thus $`_2`$ corresponds to a scattering of the $`\omega `$ meson off a thermally excited $`\pi ^0`$ into $`\pi ^+`$ and $`\pi ^{}`$, where each particle has the characteristic thermal corrections. The integration region $`\mathrm{\Delta }_2`$ is still constrained by $`\stackrel{}{q}_+^{2}\stackrel{}{q}_{}^{2}(\stackrel{}{q}_+\stackrel{}{q}_{})^2>0`$, but now in the region defined by $`E_++E_{}m_\omega +m_\pi `$. Because the integration region $`\mathrm{\Delta }_2`$ is now unbounded and the functions defined on it are only damped by Bose factors and their combinations, the scattering contribution to the decay width increases quite strongly with temperature, as we will see below. The factor 3 in front of $`_2`$ stems from the fact that the pion charges are merely labels to distinguish the particles, and there are three possible combinations. Isospin symmetry implies that the contributions from $`\omega +\pi ^+\pi ^0+\pi ^+`$ and $`\omega +\pi ^{}\pi ^0+\pi ^{}`$ are the same as $`\omega +\pi ^0\pi ^{}+\pi ^+`$ which we have chosen as our reference calculation. Note that processes such as $`\omega \pi \pi \pi `$ are formally present in Eq.(4), but they do not contribute since they are kinematically forbidden.
The real part of the decay diagram, i.e. the mass shift due to the 3-pion loop, has not been calculated so far. It involves a two-dimensional Cauchy Principal Value integral which is impossible to compute analytically and difficult to calculate numerically. However, we expect the thermal mass shift of the $`\omega `$ meson to be small, recalling that for the $`\rho `$ meson, the leading thermal mass shift comes only at order $`T^4`$ . In the following we use $`m_\omega =783`$ MeV.

In Figure 1 we plot the dependence of the $`\omega `$ meson decay width on temperature. Shown are the contributions from the decay term $`_1`$ in eq.(7), the scattering term $`3_2`$ and the sum of both. An interesting picture emerges: the direct $`\omega 3\pi `$ decay term behaves as we would expect from our experience with 2-body decays. The Bose enhancement leads to a moderate rise of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega `$ from its vacuum value 7.5 MeV up to about 14 MeV at $`T=150`$ MeV. This increase is nevertheless stronger than in a 2-body decay because there are now three Bose enhancement factors present. The contribution from the re-combination of thermal pions into an $`\omega `$ meson (which reduces the width) cancels only part of these enhancement factors.
At temperatures $`T>60`$ MeV, a substantial fraction of pions is excited, and the scattering term starts to play an important rôle. Its increase with temperature is, not surprisingly, reminiscent of the rate at which the thermal pion density grows. However, because of the additional Bose enhancement of the final state pions, the scattering rate rises stronger than $`T^3`$. In fact, a good fit over the temperature range considered is

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\omega \pi \pi \pi }=\left(\frac{T}{T_s}\right)^5\text{ MeV}\text{with}T_s=72.3\text{ MeV}\frac{m_\pi }{2}.$$

For $`T>120`$ MeV, this width becomes larger than the pure decay term, rising up to about 40 MeV at $`T=150`$ MeV. The total decay width is now the sum of decay and scattering terms, leading to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega 15`$ MeV at $`T=100`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega 55`$ MeV at $`T=150`$ MeV. At even higher temperatures one enters into the region of the chiral and deconfinement transition where the $`\omega `$ meson supposedly dissolves and releases its quark constituents.

In Figure 2 we show the (dimensionless) thermal electromagnetic spectral function,

$$R(E,T)=\frac{12\pi }{E^2}\text{Im}\overline{\mathrm{\Pi }}(E,T),$$
(9)
expressed in terms of the (reduced) current-current correlation function $`\overline{\mathrm{\Pi }}`$ in the $`\omega `$ channel. The imaginary part of the $`\omega `$ meson self-energy, Im$`\mathrm{\Pi }(E,T)`$, is related to the correlator by

$$\text{Im}\overline{\mathrm{\Pi }}(E)=\frac{\text{Im}\mathrm{\Pi }(E,T)}{9g^2}|F(E)|^2,\text{with}F(E)=\frac{m_\omega ^2}{E^2m_\omega ^2+i\text{Im}\mathrm{\Pi }(E,T)}.$$
(10)
Eq.(9) is normalized such that it can be directly compared to the cross section rate $`\sigma (e^+e^{}\text{hadrons})/\sigma (e^+e^{}\mu ^+\mu ^{})`$. We have ignored contributions from the $`n`$-pion continuum with $`n5`$, which add to the spectrum at $`E>1`$ GeV but will not experience significant thermal effects. Hardly any change is visible in the spectral function at $`T<100`$ MeV. However, as the temperature increases beyond 100 MeV the $`\omega `$ meson broadens substantially (the situation here is quite different from the one in matter at zero temperature and finite baryon density $`\rho _B`$ where the $`\omega `$ mass shift and the increase of its width have a leading linear dependence on $`\rho _B`$ ).
Different approximate calculations of the $`\omega `$ meson width  lead to results smaller than ours (their values for $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega `$ lie between 20 and 40 MeV at $`T=150`$ MeV; see however  where the simple estimate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega (T_C)9\mathrm{\Gamma }_\omega (0)`$ comes quite close to our value). Our result is a natural outcome of thermal field theory and does not require an ad hoc modification of a $`T=0`$ decay width formula. In fact, we suspect that the modified Breit-Wigner ansatz used in ref. is not appropriate at high temperatures where the $`\omega \pi `$ coupling to the isovector $`\pi \pi `$ continuum is strong and gives rise to the broad background in the low-mass spectrum, as shown in Figure 2. Recently, a calculation of the $`\omega `$ meson width at finite temperature using forward scattering amplitudes inferred from experimental data yielded a width of 50 MeV at $`T=150`$ MeV , which supports a larger width than that obtained in refs..
We conclude that, at high temperatures approaching the critical range commonly associated with the chiral and deconfinement transition in QCD, the $`\omega `$ meson tends to loose its sharp resonance structure and experiences a strongly increased width, mainly as a consequence of collisions with thermal pions in the heat bath. The present results are of some relevance to the analysis of $`e^+e^{}`$ rates produced in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions . While the $`\omega `$ meson visibly retains its quasi-particle structure even at high temperatures (see Figure 2), its lifetime decreases to about 3 fm/$`c`$ at $`T=150`$ MeV. This implies that, contrary to common belief, the $`\omega `$ meson has a chance to interact and decay inside the expanding fireball produced in central heavy ion collisions.


format: text

text:
# References

Fluctuation induced first order phase transition
in thin films of type I superconductors

R. Folka, D. V. Shopovab,∗, D. I. Uzunova-c

aInstitut für Theoretische Physik, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, A-4040 Linz, Austria
bCPCM Laboratory, G. Nadjakov Institute of Solid State Physics,
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BG-1784 Sofia, Bulgaria

cMax-Planck-Institut für Komplexer Systeme, 01187 Dresden, Germany

Corresponding author: sho@issp.bas.bg

Key words: superconductivity, magnetic fluctuations, latent heat, specific heat, order parameter profile.

PACS: 74.20.-z, 64-30+t, 74.20.De

## Abstract

The effect of fluctuation induced weakly first order phase transition known for three dimensional (3$`D`$) type I superconductors appears in a modified and strongly enhanced variant in thin (quasi-$`2D`$) superconducting films. The unusual thermodynamic properties of this new type of first order phase transitions and the possibility for an experimental verification of the effect are established and discussed.

One of the outstanding problems of the phase transition theory of superconductivity is the so-called fluctuation induced weakly first order phase transition (WFOT) in three dimensional (3D) type I superconductors. It was shown  that the interaction between the fluctuations $`\delta 𝐇`$ of the magnetic field $`𝐇`$ and the order parameter $`\psi (𝐱)`$ may produce a fluctuation induced change of the order of the phase transition in 3D type I superconductors: from a second order phase transition when the magnetic fluctuations $`\delta 𝐇`$ are neglected to a weak first order transition when the same magnetic fluctuations are taken into account and the mean magnetic field $`𝐇_0=(𝐇\delta 𝐇)`$ is equal to zero. Note, that we consider nonmagnetic superconductors, where the magnetic induction $`𝐁`$ is equal to the magnetic field $`𝐇`$. Besides, we discuss the phase transition point $`T_{c0}`$ corresponding to a zero critical magnetic field, $`H_c(T_{c0})=0`$, and our consideration will be not extended to the entire line \[$`0H_c(T)H_c(0)`$\] of the superconducting phase transition.

The same type of fluctuation induced first order phase transition was predicted also in other fields of physics, for example, in the theory of the early universe  and on the basis of the de Gennes model of smectic A – nematic phase transitions in liquid crystals . It seems that under certain circumstances, i.e. suitable values of the characteristic lengths, such fluctuation induced first order transitions may occur in any system described by an Abelian-Higgs type of model , where a scalar field like the superconducting order parameter $`\psi (𝐱)`$ interacts with a massless vector gauge field. In a superconductor the massless gauge field is the vector potential $`𝐀(𝐱)`$ of the magnetic field given for 3D systems by $`𝐇(𝐱)=\times 𝐀`$ and the Coulomb gauge $`\text{div}𝐀=0`$. A general description of the phase transition mechanism in Abelian-Higgs systems was given within the the scalar field electrodynamics . The theoretical studies of this problem in superconductors have been performed with the help of the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory of superconductivity and the so-called dual model ), including the application of the renormalization group (for a review, see ). The WFOT problem seems to be of general interest to a wide range of systems and, in particular, to recent aspects of superconductivity . According to the theoretical predictions the effect in 3D superconductors is very weak . For this reason an experimental search of the WFOT was attempted in smectic A liquid crystals by interface velocity measurements as well as by high-resolution heat capacity and X-ray experiments . The results were interpreted  in favour of a WFOT due to the interaction between the smectic scalar order parameter and the director vector of the nematic order, i.e. as a verification of the theoretically established fluctuation mechanism.

We shall restrict our consideration to type I superconductors where the description of the WFOT can be given within the ”approximation of spatially uniform order parameter” ($`\psi (𝐱)\psi `$ ). That is why we shall present a form of the GL free energy which can be used for the investigation of the WFOT in D-dimensional type I superconductors for a uniform order parameter $`\psi `$. The 3D and 4D dimensionalities were analyzed in preceding works  and we shall focus on quasi-2D films. We shall demonstrate that the effect of WFOT is much stronger in films than in 3D samples and, therefore, could be experimentally observed (if it really exists). Besides, in quasi-2D superconductors the WFOT is described by a logarithmic term instead of a third order term in $`\psi `$ , and this presents a special theoretical interest.

In standard notations  the GL free energy in case of a spatially uniform order parameter $`\psi `$ takes the form $`F_{GL}=(F_0+F_A)`$ with

$$F_0=V\left(a|\psi |^2+\frac{b}{2}|\psi |^4\right),$$
(1)
and

$$F_A=\frac{1}{16\pi }\underset{ij}{}d^Dx\left[2\rho (\psi )\delta _{ij}A_j^2+(_iA_j_jA_i)^2\right],$$
(2)
where $`_i=/_i`$, $`(i,j)=1,\mathrm{},D`$; $`V=(L_1\mathrm{}L_D)`$ is the volume of the D-dimensional superconductor, $`H=|𝐇|`$, $`a=\alpha _0(TT_{c0})`$ with $`\alpha _0(T_{c0})>0`$, $`b(T_{c0})>0`$, $`\rho =\rho _0|\psi |^2`$ with $`\rho _0=(8\pi e^2/mc^2`$). The quantities $`2m`$ and $`2e`$ are the effective mass and charge of the Cooper pairs respectively, and in superconductors of interest to the present investigation $`2m2m_e`$, where $`m_e`$ is the electron rest mass. The concrete values of the initial (bare) critical temperature $`T_{c0}`$ and the Landau parameters $`\alpha _0`$ and $`b`$ given by the microscopic BCS theory , are not essential for our consideration within the general GL phenomenological approach. But we should keep in mind that the GL theory describes only quasimacroscopic phenomena with characteristic lengths greater than the zero-temperature coherence length $`\xi _0=(\mathrm{}^2/4m\alpha _0T_{c0})^{1/2}`$; for a microscopic (BCS) justification of this argument, see, e.g., .

In the space of the wave vectors $`𝐤`$, the upper cutoff $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ for $`k𝐤`$ is $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(1/\xi _0)`$ and can be extended to larger values only in case of special circumstances (calculation of cutoff independent integrals). Besides, the free energy (1) has additional restrictions which are also relevant to our consideration. Firstly, the approximation $`\psi =`$const will be valid for well established type I superconductors, like Al, where the GL parameter $`\kappa `$ is much less than unity; $`\kappa =\lambda (T)/\xi (T)`$. The coherence length $`\xi (T)`$ is given by $`\xi (T)=\xi _0/|t|^{1/2}`$ , where $`t=(TT_{c0})/T_{c0}`$, and the London penetration depth is $`\lambda (T)=\lambda _0/|t|^{1/2}`$, where $`\lambda _0=(mc^2b/8\pi e^2\alpha _0T_{c0})^{1/2}`$ stands for the zero-temperature value of $`\lambda `$. Secondly, we have to take into account the additional restriction on the GL theory for type I superconductors, namely, $`|TT_{c0}|\kappa ^2T_{c0}`$ , which comes from the general Landau condition $`|TT_{c0}|T_{c0}`$ and the requirement for a locality of the functional dependence between the supercurrent and the vector potential. The latter requirement is fulfilled for slow variations of the magnetic field and the vector potential at distances of order of $`\xi _0`$, i.e. for $`\lambda (T)\xi _0`$. This means that the GL theory for well established type I superconductors with, for example, a GL parameter $`\kappa 10^1÷10^2`$, is valid only for $`|t|<10^2÷10^4`$K. The Ginzburg critical region for these superconductors is very small ( $`10^{12}÷10^{16}`$) and can be safely ignored. All phenomena that can be reliably predicted within this theory are confined to a relatively narrow vicinity of the phase transition point ($`010^{12}<|t|<10^2÷10^4`$).

Thus we shall use the free energy (1) only for the description of phenomena in the temperature domain defined by the inequalities $`\xi (T)\lambda (T)\xi _0`$ which are fulfilled in the same vicinity of the phase transition point. Our heuristic arguments presented above have a reliable justification within the microscopic approach .

Following preceding papers  we shall integrate out the vector potential in order to obtain an effective free energy as a function of the uniform field $`\psi `$. This integration is performed exactly within a simple one-loop expansion, as depicted in Fig.1, where the $`\rho `$dependent term in eq. (2) is considered as a perturbation. The summation of the infinite logarithmic series shown in Fig. 1 yields

$$F_{\text{eff}}^{(A)}=\frac{1}{2}(D1)k_BT\underset{𝐤}{}\text{ln}\left[1+\rho (\psi )/k^2\right],$$
(3)
which substitutes $`F_A`$ in $`F_{GL}`$. The total effective free energy density is given by $`f_{\text{eff}}=(F_0+F_{\text{eff}}^{(A)})/V`$. The function $`f_{\text{eff}}(\psi )`$ was investigated in details for $`D3`$  when the effects of the term $`F_{\text{eff}}^{(A)}`$ are small; a brief notice  about the $`2D`$ case is also known.

Let us focus the attention on the quasi-2D spatial dimensionality (3D thin films), where the film thickness $`L_0`$ satisfies the condition $`\lambda (T)L_0\xi _0`$. This condition is suitable for both theoretical and experimental investigations. Then our relatively thin superconducting slab must obey the following conditions:

$$\xi (T)\lambda (T)L_0\xi _0.$$
(4)
It is easy to see that the $`𝐤`$summation in eq. (3) can be substituted with a 2D integration over the wave vector components parallel to the film surface and the transverse wave vector component is equal to zero. An upper cutoff $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=(1/\xi _0)`$ is assumed for $`k|𝐤|`$. In contrast to the pure $`2D`$ case  and studies in other spatial dimensionalities  the result for the effective free energy of the quasi-$`2D`$ superconductor is given by

$$f_{\text{eff}}=r_0|\psi |^2+\frac{u}{2}|\psi |^4Q|\psi |^2\text{ln}(\rho _0|\psi |^2/\mathrm{\Lambda }^2),$$
(5)
where $`r_0=(a+k_BT\rho _0/4\pi L_0)`$, $`u=(b+k_BT\rho _0^2/4\pi \mathrm{\Lambda }^2L_0)`$, and $`Q=(k_BT\rho _0/4\pi L_0)`$. The evaluation of the contribution of the vector potential fluctuations, i.e. of the $`\rho _0`$-dependent terms in eq. (5) shows that these terms cannot be neglected for the entire temperature interval of validity of our consideration. Besides, the evaluation of the new terms in the free energy is useful as a demonstration of the important role of the cutoff $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ and the necessity of the consistent choice $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(1/\xi _0)`$. Another choice of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ immediately leads to wrong predictions.

The free energy $`f(\phi )=[f_{\text{eff}}(\phi )/u]`$ with $`\phi |\psi |0`$ is depicted in Fig. 2 for several values of $`r=[r_0+Q\text{ln}(\mathrm{\Lambda }^2/\rho _0)/u]`$, and $`q=(Q/u)`$. Figure 2 shows a well established first order phase transition. We shall briefly summarize the analytical treatment of the free energy (5) in terms of the simple notations $`f`$, $`r`$, and $`q`$. The analysis is similar to that for first order phase transitions described by a third order ($`\phi ^3`$)term; for details, see . Let us denote the solutions of the equation of state ($`f/\phi )=0`$ by $`\phi _0(|\psi _0|)`$ \- the possible phases. The normal phase solution ($`\phi _0=0`$) exists and gives a minimum of $`f`$ for all $`T0`$. Moreover, the necessary stability condition $`f^{\prime \prime }(\phi _0)=(^2f/^2\phi )_{\phi _0}>0`$ exhibits a singular behaviour $`f^{\prime \prime }(\phi _00)(+\mathrm{})`$, i.e. a logarithmic divergence. This peculiar property does not create troubles about the physical meaning of the effective free energy. Rather this result shows that in thin films the normal state can occur at any $`T0`$ as a stable phase above the equilibrium phase transition temperature $`T_cT_{c0}`$, or, if certain experimental conditions are satisfied, as a metastable phase for $`0TT_c`$.

The superconducting (Meissner) phase $`\phi _0>0`$ is described by the equation

$$(rq)+\phi _0^2q\text{ln}\phi _0^2=0.$$
(6)
The solution of this equation, i.e. the equilibrium order parameter $`\phi _0>0`$ is shown in Fig. 3 for values of the parameters $`r`$ and $`q`$ which allow the existence of a first order transition. The check of the necessary ($`f^{\prime \prime }(\phi _0)>0`$) and the sufficient ($`f(\phi _0)<0`$) stability conditions for $`\phi _0>0`$ show that the former is fulfilled for $`\phi _0^2>q`$, whereas the latter condition is fulfilled for $`\phi _0^2>2q`$. Therefore, the Meissner phase can be overheated above the equilibrium transition temperature $`T_c`$ of the phase transition defined by the equation $`\phi _0^2(T_c)=2q(T_c)`$. The equilibrium order parameter jump is equal to $`(2q_c)^{1/2}`$, where $`q_cq(T_c)`$. This overheating may continue up to the temperature $`T_{c1}`$ defined by $`\phi _0^2(T_{c1})=q(T_{c1})`$ , where the order parameter becomes equal to $`q_c^{1/2}`$ – the lowest nonzero value of the order parameter, for which it gives a minimum of $`f`$. These features of the order parameter are shown in Fig. 3, where the ”metastability extension” of the order parameter profile is also drawn for a suitable choice of the parameter $`q`$. Note, that one can easily show in an analytical way that stable solutions $`0<\phi _0<1`$ of the eq. (6) always exist, at least, for $`r<0`$.

The latent heat $`L(T_c)=T_c\mathrm{\Delta }S(T_c)`$ and the specific heat jump $`\mathrm{\Delta }C(T_c)=T_c(S/T)_{T_c}`$ at the equilibrium phase transition point $`T_c`$ can be calculated from the free energy (5). We shall be interested in the temperature size of this first order transition, namely, in the ratio $`(\mathrm{\Delta }T)_c=|L(T_c)/C(T_c)|`$. Taking into account only the temperature dependence of the effective free energy $`f_{\text{eff}}`$ on the Landau parameter $`a`$, the temperature size $`(\mathrm{\Delta }T)_c`$ can be correctly evaluated. Our result is

$$(\mathrm{\Delta }T)_c=\frac{Q}{\alpha _0},$$
(7)
and after the substitution $`\alpha _0=(\mathrm{}^2/4mT_{c0}\xi _0^2)^{1/2}`$ and $`Q=(k_BT\rho _0/4\pi \mathrm{\Lambda }^2L_0)`$ we have

$$(\mathrm{\Delta }T)_c=8k_BT_c^2\left(\frac{\xi _0^2}{L_0}\right)\left(\frac{e}{\mathrm{}c}\right)^2.$$
(8)
When we put in the above expression the numerical values of the fundamental constants and the tabulated data for Al ($`T_c=1.19`$ K, and $`\xi (0)=1.6\times 10^4`$ cm ), we obtain that $`(\mathrm{\Delta }T)_c10^6/L_0`$. Note, that our approach is valid, if the thickness $`L_0`$ is greater than $`\xi _0`$ and less than $`\lambda (T)`$. A choice of $`L_0`$ consistent with all theoretical requirements is $`L_010\times \xi _0`$, or, for Al, $`L_010^3`$ cm, which yields $`(\mathrm{\Delta }T)_c10^3`$ K. As the usual GL theory for Al is restricted within a temperature interval of size $`10^4`$ K, our result indicates that the size of the WFOT covers totally the domain of validity of our unusual theory, namely we are faced with a normal size FOT rather than with a WFOT. Therefore, it should be emphasized that if the gauge mechanism of a fluctuation induction of the phase transitions order change really exists, this should be seen in suitable experiments with pure samples of good type I superconducting films of thickness about $`10\mu `$m. The same result for the temperature size of the FOT can be obtained by the estimation of the parameter $`\alpha _0`$ given by the BCS theory .

In conclusion, we have three notes:

(1) Our approach to quasi-2D superconductors allows to use the 3D values of the original GL parameters $`\alpha _0`$ and $`b`$ and keeps the consideration far from dangerous effects of distruction of the order by 2D fluctuations. In this respect as well as in the values of the effective parameters $`r_0`$, $`u`$, and $`Q`$, our effective free energy (5) is quite different from the pure 2D free energy known from a preceding paper of Lovesey . That is why we are able to make the prediction about the enhancement of the WFOT in quasi-2D superconductors (or, which is the same, ”almost 3D” superconductors). We should stress that for pure 2D case the Landau parameters $`\alpha _0`$ and $`b`$ are different from those corresponding to $`3D`$ superconductors and, hence, the evaluation of the same FOT effect in two dimensions needs a consistent treatment of these parameters. Moreover, the investigation of very thin (almost 2D) films requires an evaluation of the temperature region where the order parameter fluctuations will destroy the phase transition.

For these reasons our results cannot be extended in a straightforward way to very thin films by the respective decrease of the film thickness $`L_0`$. Within the phenomenological approach to dimensional crossover phenomena , the 3D Landau parameters are related to the 2D ones by $`X_{(2D)}=\text{lim}_{L_00}(XL_0)`$, where $`X=(\alpha _0,b)`$. This consideration should be compared with the BCS predictions for the 2D values of the free energy parameters.

(2) We have followed a method of integration of the magnetic fluctuations proposed in preceding papers , in which the order parameter fluctuations are not totally ignored and the ”photon mass” $`\rho (\psi )`$ generated by the effect of the Higgs field $`\psi `$ on the vector potential $`𝐀`$ is not an equilibrium quantity. The special feature of the present method is that the uniform fluctuation $`\delta \psi `$ of the uniform ”field” $`\psi `$ interacts with the magnetic fluctuations and this interaction does ensure the fluctuation mechanism of the FOT transition discussed in the present and all preceding works. The WFOT in higher spatial dimensionalities and the FOT in our case are caused by a high-order fluctuation interaction \[$`(\delta \psi )^2(\delta A_j)^2`$\] between the order parameter and the magnetic field fluctuations rather than the magnetic fluctuations alone.

(3) The theoretical arguments in favour of the FOT within the approximation $`\psi =\text{const}`$ below the equilibrium transition point are not precisely the same as those obtained by various renormalization group investigations in one loop  and higher-order  approximations in the loop expansion, where another type of singularities of the perturbation series for the GL free energy are relevant. Within the present approximation for $`\psi `$ the divergent terms, which are usually relevant for the renormalization group studies and are present in all diagrammes in Fig. 1, have been summed up to a finite sum. Therefore, the arguments in favour (or against) a WFOT within the approximation of uniform scalar field $`\psi `$ cannot be used to justify or reject renormalization group predictions above the equilibrium transition point.

Acknowledgments:

The authors thank the OSI (Vienna and its extension in Sofia) for a research grant. DIU thanks the hospitality of the Johannes Kepler Universität (Linz) and the Max-Planck-Institut für Komplexer Systeme (Dresden).

Figure captions

Fig. 1. One loop logarithmic series of diagrammes: the black squares denote the vertex part of the $`A_j^2`$ term, and the solid lines denote the correlation function $`<|A_j(𝐤)|^2>`$.

Fig. 2. The shape of the effective free energy $`f`$ for $`q=10^4`$: line (1) corresponds to $`r=9.3\times 10^4`$, (2) – to $`r=9.4\times 10^4`$, (3) – to $`r=9.515\times 10^4`$, and (4) – to $`r=9.7\times 10^4`$.

Fig. 3. The order parameter profile for $`q=10^4`$. The black squares indicate the stable superconducting states and the white squares indicate metastable superconducting states above the equilibrium transition point.