HOT NUCLEONS

We present a systematic study of the nucleons' static and dynamic properties at finite temperatures. To describe the nucleon, we make use of the topological chiral soliton model based on a non-linear meson theory of interacting pions, ρ{variant}- and ω-mesons. The nucleon properties are determined by the mesonic parameters. For the temperature dependence of these meson parameters, we use rigorous results from chiral perturbation theory as well as predictions from the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. We discuss bulk properties of the nucleon, electroweak form factors, strong and weak interaction regions. We stress the importance of these effects for the study of hadronic systems close to the chiral restoration phase transition. Furthermore, we derive an expression for the temperature dependence of the non-perturbative gluon condensate. © 1991.