Unbreaking chiral symmetry

In Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) the eigenmodes of the Dirac operator with small absolute eigenvalues have a close relationship to the dynamical breaking of the chiral symmetry. In a simulation with two dynamical quarks, we study the behavior of meson propagators when removing increasingly more of those modes in the valence sector, thus partially removing effects of chiral symmetry breaking. We find that some of the symmetry aspects are restored (e.g., the masses of $\rho$ and $a_1$ approach each other) while confining properties persist.