Fluctuations and defects in pion condensates and a possible new phase

A pion condensate as a layered structure has violent fluctuations with the critical phenomena at the transition being a consequence of the proliferation of line-like defects, just as in smectic A liquid crystals. The dominance of dislocations over disclinations suggests the existence of a new phase, prior to pion condensation, in which there is directional order without a periodic structure. (author)