Proper-time evaluation of the effective action: unequal masses in the loop

Abstract: The Fock-Schwinger proper-time method is used to derive the effective action in the field theory with the chiral $U(3)\times U(3)$ symmetry explicitly broken by unequal masses of heavy particles. The one-loop effective action is presented as a series in inverse powers of heavy masses. The first two Seeley-DeWitt coefficients of this expansion are explicitly calculated. This powerful technique opens a promising avenue for studying explicit flavor symmetry breaking effects in the effective field theories.