⚛ CHIRAL SYMMETRY BREAKING — NJL MODEL

NJL PARAMETERS

Chiral condensate ⟨ψ̄ψ⟩:
Dynamical mass M*:
Phase:
Symmetry broken:
Nambu–Jona-Lasinio (1961): four-fermion contact interaction models spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. Below critical coupling Gc, ⟨ψ̄ψ⟩ = 0 (chiral symmetric). Above Gc, ⟨ψ̄ψ⟩ ≠ 0 — quarks acquire dynamical mass ~300 MeV. The "Mexican hat" effective potential shows this is a second-order phase transition. High T or μ restores the symmetry — the QCD chiral phase transition.