Gravitational chiral anomaly at finite temperature and density

We investigate the gravitational anomaly vertex <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><a:mo stretchy="false">⟨</a:mo><a:mi>T</a:mi><a:mi>T</a:mi><a:msub><a:mi>J</a:mi><a:mn>5</a:mn></a:msub><a:mo stretchy="false">⟩</a:mo></a:math> (graviton—graviton—axial current) under conditions of finite density and temperature. Through a direct analysis of perturbative contributions, we demonstrate that neither finite temperature nor finite fermion density affects the gravitational chiral anomaly. These results find application in several contexts, from topological materials to the early Universe plasma. They affect the decay of any axion or axionlike particle into gravitational waves, in very dense and hot environments. Published by the American Physical Society 2024