METASTABILITY IN SU(N) GAUGE-THEORIES AT HIGH-TEMPERATURES

Pure SU (N) gauge theories have a global Z(N) symmetry which breaks spontaneously at high temperatures. Fundamental representation fermions explicity break the Z(N) symmetry. We show that this leads to the existence of metastable states at high temperatures in most SU (N) gauge theories. These states may exist at arbitrarily high temperatures, contrary to the usual pattern of metastability. The thin wall approximation is applicable in many cases. We calculate various parameters associated with the metastable states, including the action and radius of a critical droplet. These metastable phases may have very long lifetimes. They may be unobservable in heavy ion collisions, but could play a role in the early universe.