Spontaneous symmetry breaking and bifurcations from the Maclaurin and Jacobi ellipsoids

D.H. Constantinescu , L. Michel , L.A. Radicati

The equilibrium of a rotating self-gravitating fluid is governed by non-linear equations. The equilibrium solutions, parametrized in terms of the angular momentum squared, exhibit the phenomenon of bifurcation, accompanied by spontaneous symmetry breaking. Under very general assumptions, a set of selection rules can be derived, which drastically restrict the patterns of symmetry breaking that are allowed to appear. Bifurcations of this kind are similar to second-order phase transitions à la Landau. The method is illustrated by the simple example of an incompressible fluid in rigid rotation. However, the selection rules are more general; they apply also to models which approximate a rotating star more realistically.

Mots clés: quantum field theory of gravitation; rotation; spontaneous symmetry breaking

Domaines: Articles anciens

D.H. Constantinescu, L. Michel, L.A. Radicati. Spontaneous symmetry breaking and bifurcations from the Maclaurin and Jacobi ellipsoids. Journal de Physique, 1979, 40 (2), pp.147-159. ⟨10.1051/jphys:01979004002014700⟩. ⟨jpa-00208894⟩