First-order phase transition in three-dimensional QED with Chern-Simons term.

We have studied the chiral phase transition in three-dimensional QED in the presence of a Chern–Simons term for the gauge field. There exists a phase where the chiral symmetry is broken dynamically and we have determined the critical line for this symmetry breaking as a function of the effective coupling and the strength of the additional Chern–Simons term. In the presence of a Chern–Simons term, the chiral phase transition turns out to be first order, in sharp contrast to the phase transition in pure three-dimensional QED. 11.30.Qc, 11.30.Rd, 11.10.Kk, 11.15.Tk Typeset using REVTEX