Monopoles and chiral-symmetry breaking in three-dimensional lattice QED

Abstract

The chiral-symmetry order parameter $〈\overline{\ensuremath{\chi}}\ensuremath{\chi}〉$ and the monopole density ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{m}$ are calculated for lattice QED in 2+1 dimensions for zero and two fermion flavors. A comparison of the results for the compact and the noncompact lattice action yields a strong correlation between $〈\overline{\ensuremath{\chi}}\ensuremath{\chi}〉$ and ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{m}$ being essentially independent of the type of lattice action. This is interpreted as evidence that monopole condensation drives chiral-symmetry breaking in three-dimensional lattice QED.