Abstract
Within a mean-field approximation, we show that the topological excitations of the three-dimensional XY model (vortex loops) break rotational invariance below the critical temperature. The onset of long-range order shows up as an orientational transition of the vortex loops perpendicular to the direction picked out by the mean field.
- Received 24 October 1985
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.33.3002
©1986 American Physical Society