It is shown that the potential functions for the ordinary linear sigma model can be divided into two topographically different types depending on whether the quantity $R\equiv(m_\sigma/m_\pi)^2$ is greater than or less than nine. Since the Wigner-Weyl mode (R=1) and the Nambu-Goldstone mode ($R=\infty$ belong to different regions, we speculate that this classification may provide a generalization to the broken symmetry situation, which could be convenient for roughly characterizing different possible applications of the model. It is noted that a more complicated potential does not so much change this picture as add different new regions.
Categories: hep-ph