The Phases of Non-Compact QED_3

Non-compact three-dimensional QED is studied by computer simulations to understand its chiral symmetry breaking features for different values of the number of fermion flavors N f . We consider the four-component formulation for the fermion fields, which arises naturally as the continuum limit of the staggered fermion construction in (2+ 1) dimensions. We present preliminary results for the equation of state of the theory in an effort to understand the properties of the chiral phase transition of the theory at a critical number of fermion flavors N f c. Our preliminary results indicate that N f c 1:5.