Revisiting $O(N)$ σ model at unphysical pion masses and high temperatures. II. The vacuum structure and thermal σ pole trajectory with cross-channel improvements

The effective potential of $O(N)$ model at large N limit is reinvestigated for varying pion mass and temperature. For large pion masses and high temperatures, we find the phenomenologically favored vacuum, located on the upper branch of the double-branched effective potential for physical m_π, moves to the lower branch and becomes no longer a local minimum but a saddle point. The existence and running of the tachyon pole are also discussed. With the effective coupling constant defined from the effective potential, the possible correspondence relation between the two branches of the effective potential and the two phases of the theory (distinguished by positive or negative coupling) is verified even with nonzero explicit symmetry breaking and at finite temperature. Also, we generalize the $N/D$ modified $O(N)$ model to study the thermal trajectory of the σ pole with the cross-channel contributions considered and find the thermal σ pole trajectory resembles its counterpart with varying pion mass at zero temperature.