Phase Transition Temperatures at Next-to-Leading Order

Broken gauge symmetries are typically restored at high temperature, and the leading-order result for the critical temperature $T_c$ was found many years ago by Weinberg and by Dolan and Jackiw. I find a simple expression for the next-to-leading order correction to $T_c$, which is order $e T_c$ where $e$ is the gauge coupling. The result is a simple consequence of recent work on summing ring diagrams at high temperature in gauge theories. The result is valid when the Higgs self-coupling $λ$ is the same order as $e^2$, and it does not address the case of strongly first-order phase transitions, which arise when $λ\ll e^2$.

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