This paper extends classical results by Langer and Kramers and combines them with modern methods from high-temperature field theory. Assuming Langevin dynamics, the end-product is an all-orders description of bubble-nucleation at high temperatures. Specifically, it's shown that equilibrium and non-equilibrium effects factorize to all orders, and that the nucleation rate splits into a statistical and a dynamical prefactor. The derivation clarifies, and incorporates, higher-order corrections from zero-modes. The rate is also shown to be real to all orders in perturbation theory. The methods are applied to several models. As such, Feynman rules are given; the relevant power-counting is introduced; RG invariance is shown; the connection with the effective action is discussed, and an explicit construction of propagators in an inhomogeneous background is given. The formalism applies to both phase and Sphaleron transitions. While mainly focused on field theory, the methods are applicable to finite-dimensional systems. Finally, as this paper assumes an effective Langevin description, all results only hold within this framework.
The standard vacuum bounce formalism suffers from inconsistencies when applied to thermal bubble nucleation, for which ad hoc workarounds are commonly adopted. Identifying the length scales on which nucleation takes place, we demonstrate how the construction of an effective description for these scales naturally resolves the problems of the standard vacuum bounce formalism. Further, by utilising high-temperature dimensional reduction, we make a connection to classical nucleation theory. This offers a clear physical picture of thermal bubble nucleation, as well as a computational framework whic…
On the basis of Borel resummation, we propose a systematical improvement of bounce calculus of quantum bubble nucleation rate. We study a metastable super-renormalizable field theory, $D$ dimensional O(N) symmetric $ϕ^4$ model ($D<4$) with an attractive interaction. The validity of our proposal is tested in D=1 (quantum mechanics) by using the perturbation series of ground state energy to high orders. We also present a result in D=2, based on an explicit calculation of vacuum bubble diagrams to five loop orders.
Modern particle physics and cosmology support the idea that a background of invisible material pervades the whole universe, and identify in the cosmic vacuum the ultimate source of matter-energy, both seen and unseen. Within the framework of the theory of fundamental relativistic membranes, we suggest a self-consistent, vacuum energy-driven mechanism for dark matter creation through gauge symmetry rearrangement.
Starting from the QCD Lagrangian and the surface tension of QCD bubbles we derive the critical size of bubbles, the nucleation probability and the nucleation site separation distance. We find the separation of sites is more than an order of magnitude larger than previous QCD model estimates, which could lead to observable effects.
We present a study of the role of fermions in the decay of metastable states of a scalar field via bubble nucleation. We analyze both one and three-dimensional systems by using a gradient expansion for the calculation of the fermionic determinant. The results of the one-dimensional case are compared to the exact results of previous work.
Localised heterogeneities have been recently discovered to act as bubble-nucleation sites in nonlinear field theories. Vacuum decay seeded by black holes is one of the most remarkable applications. This article proposes a simple and exactly solvable $ϕ^4$ model exhibiting bubble nucleation around localised heterogeneities. Bubbles with a rich dynamical behaviour are observed depending on the topological properties of the heterogeneity. The linear stability analysis of soliton-bubbles predicts the formation of oscillating bubbles and the insertion of new bubbles inside an expanding precursor bu…
We develop a method to calculate the prefactor in the expression for the bubble nucleation rate. A fermion with Yukawa coupling is considered where a step potential can be used as a good approximation in the thin wall limit. Corrections due to thicker walls are considered by perturbing about the thin wall case. We derive the thermal one loop effective action, calculating it numerically, and find that the prefactor in the nucleation rate can both suppress and enhance, for a given temperature, when the usual renormalisation conditions are applied to the effective potential.
I calculate the first corrections to the dynamical pre-exponential factor of the bubble nucleation rate for a relativistic first-order phase transition in an expanding cosmological background by estimating the effects of the Hubble expansion rate on the critical bubbles of Langer's statistical theory of metastability. I also comment on possible applications and problems that arise when one considers the field theoretical extensions of these results (the Coleman-De Luccia and Hawking-Moss instantons and decay rates).
Classical-statistical lattice simulations provide a useful approximation to out-of-equilibrium quantum field theory, but only for systems exhibiting large occupation numbers, and only for phenomena that are not intrinsically quantum mechanical in nature. In certain special circumstances, it can be appropriate to initialize such real-time simulations with quantum-like zero-point fluctuations. We will revisit these points, and investigate reports that quantum bubble nucleation rates in 1+1 dimensions can be computed through the classical evolution of such a quantum-like initial condition. We fin…
We estimate bubble-nucleation rates for cosmological phase transitions. We concentrate on the evaluation of the pre-exponential factor, for which we give approximate analytical expressions. Our approach relies on the use of a real coarse-grained potential. We show how the coarse-graining scale can be determined in the studies of high-temperature phase transitions. We discuss the metastability bound on the Higgs-boson mass and the electroweak phase transition. We find that the saddle-point approximation is reliable in the first case and breaks down in the second case.
We summarize recent work on the consistent calculation of bubble-nucleation rates. Our approach is based on the notion of a real coarse-grained potential. The bubble-nucleation rate is calculated through an expansion around the semiclassical saddle point associated with tunnelling. We resolve outstanding problems related to the convexity of the potential, the double-counting of the effect of fluctuations and the inherent ultraviolet divergences. We determine the region of validity of the expansion around the saddle point. We find that this expansion fails near the spinodal line, and for weak o…
A gauge-invariant framework for computing bubble nucleation rates at finite temperature in the presence of radiative barriers was presented and advocated for model-building and phenomenological studies in an accompanying article arXiv:2112.05472. Here, we detail this computation using the Abelian Higgs Model as an illustrative example. Subsequently, we recast this approach in the dimensionally-reduced high-temperature effective field theory for nucleation. This allows for including several higher order thermal resummations and furthermore delineate clearly the approach's limits of validity. Th…
Two equations for the calculation of the critical energy required for homogeneous nucleation in a superheated liquid, and the related critical radius of the nucleated vapour bubble, are obtained, the former by the direct application of the first law of thermodynamics, the latter by considering that the bubble formation implies the overcoming of a barrier of the free enthalpy potential. Comparisons with the currently used relationships demonstrate that the sensitivity of the bubble chambers employed in dark matter searches can be sometimes notably overestimated.
SISSA, International School for Advanced Studies（国际高等研究院）；INFN Sezione di Trieste（意大利国家核物理研究所的里雅斯特分部）；IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe（宇宙基础物理研究所）
We have recently suggested that tiny black holes can act as nucleation seeds for the decay of the metastable Higgs vacuum. Previous results applied only to the nucleation of thin-wall bubbles, and covered a very small region of parameter space. This paper considers bubbles of arbitrary profile and reaches the same conclusion: black holes seed rapid vacuum decay. Seeded and unseeded nucleation rates are compared, and the gravitational back reaction of the bubbles is taken into account. The evolution of the bubble interior is described for the unseeded nucleation. Results are presented for the r…
We study gravitational-wave production from bubble collisions in a cosmic first-order phase transition, focusing on the possibility of model separation by the bubble nucleation rate dependence of the resulting gravitational-wave spectrum. By using the method of relating the spectrum with the two-point correlator of the energy-momentum tensor $\left< T(x)T(y) \right>$, we first write down analytic expressions for the spectrum with a Gaussian correction to the commonly used nucleation rate, $Γ\propto e^{βt}\rightarrow e^{βt-γ^2t^2}$, under the thin-wall and envelope approximations. Then we quant…
At first order phase transitions the transition proceeds through droplet nucleation and growth. We discuss a lattice method for calculating the droplet nucleation rate, including the complete dynamical factors. The method is especially suitable for very strongly suppressed droplet nucleation, which is often the case in physically interesting transitions. We apply the method to the 3-dimensional cubic anisotropy model in a parameter range where the model has a radiatively induced strong first order phase transition, and compare the results with analytical approaches.
We include the electromagnetic currents from fermion degrees of freedom in the equations of motion for electroweak MSSM with a right-handed Stop that we have recently investigated. It is found that near the surface of the bubble walls there are important effects on the electromagnetic fields produced during bubble nucleation.
We derive the equations of motion for electroweak MSSM with a right-handed Stop, from which we derive the equations for the electromagnetic field that arises from bubble nucleation and collisions during the first order electroweak phase transition that can occur in this MSSM. Introducing an isospin ansatz we derive e.o.m. for the electrically charged W fields uncoupled from all other fields. These serve as the current for the Maxwell-like e.o.m. for the em field. The resulting electromagnetic field arising during EWPT bubble nucleation is found. This electromagnetic structure, along with that …
We present a consistent calculation of bubble-nucleation rates in theories of two scalar fields. Our approach is based on the notion of a coarse-grained free energy that incorporates the effects of fluctuations with momenta above a given scale k. We establish the reliability of the method for a variety of two-scalar models and confirm the conclusions of previous studies in one-field theories: Langer's theory of homogeneous nucleation is applicable as long as the expansion around the semiclassical saddle point associated with tunnelling is convergent. This expansion breaks down when the exponen…
We study the probability for nucleation of quark matter droplets in the dense cold cores of old neutron stars induced by the presence of a self-annihilating dark matter component, $χ$. Using a parameterized form of the equation of state for hadronic and quark phases of ordinary matter, we explore the thermodynamic conditions under which droplet formation is facilitated by the energy injection from $χ$ self-annihilations. We obtain the droplet nucleation time as a function of the dark matter candidate mass, $m_χ$. We discuss further observational consequences.
Impact of Bubble Nucleation History and Friction on Primordial Black Hole Formation
Regional Centre for Accelerator based Particle Physics, Harish-Chandra Research Institute（哈里斯-钱德拉研究所加速器粒子物理区域中心）；Homi Bhabha National Institute（霍米·巴巴国立研究所）
In this paper I discuss how to consistently incorporate higher-order corrections to the bubble-nucleation rate at finite temperature. Doing so I examine the merits of different approaches, with the goal of reducing uncertainties for gravitational-wave calculations. To be specific, the region of applicability and accuracy of the derivative expansion is discussed. The derivative expansion is then compared to a numerical implementation of the Gelfand-Yaglom theorem. Both methods are applied to popular first-order phase transition models, like a loop-induced barrier and a SM-EFT tree-level barrier…
False vacuum decay in quantum mechanical first order phase transitions is a phenomenon with wide implications in cosmology, and presents interesting theoretical challenges. In the standard approach, it is assumed that false vacuum decay proceeds through the formation of bubbles that nucleate at random positions in spacetime and subsequently expand. In this paper we investigate the presence of correlations between bubble nucleation sites using a recently proposed semi-classical stochastic description of vacuum decay. This procedure samples vacuum fluctuations, which are then evolved using class…
We present a consistent picture of tunnelling in field theory. Our results apply both to high-temperature field theories in four dimensions and to zero-temperature three-dimensional ones. Our approach is based on the notion of a coarse-grained potential U_k that incorporates the effect of fluctuations with characteristic momenta above a given scale k. U_k is non-convex and becomes equal to the convex effective potential for k --> 0. We demonstrate that a consistent calculation of the nucleation rate must be performed at non-zero values of k, larger than the typical scale of the saddle-point co…
The effect of subcritical hadron bubbles on a first-order quark-hadron phase transition is studied. These subcritical hadron bubbles are created due to thermal fluctuations, and can introduce a finite amount of phase mixing (quark phase mixed with hadron phase) even at and above the critical temperature. For reasonable choices of surface tension and correlation length, as obtained from the lattice QCD calculations, we show that the amount of phase mixing at the critical temperature remains below the percolation threshold. Thus, as the system cools below the critical temperature, the transition…
We discuss the computation of the quantum effective action of strongly interacting field theories using holographic duality, and its use to determine quasi-equilibrium parameters of first order phase transitions relevant for gravitational wave production. A particularly simple holographic model is introduced, containing only the metric and a free massive scalar field. Despite the simplicity, the model contains a rich phase diagram, including first order phase transitions at non-zero temperature, due to various multi-trace deformations. We obtain the leading terms in the effective action from h…
We present a lattice method to compute bubble nucleation rates at radiatively induced first order phase transitions, in high temperature, weakly coupled field theories, nonperturbatively. A generalization of Langer's approach, it makes no recourse to saddle point expansions and includes completely the dynamical prefactor. We test the technique by applying it to the electroweak phase transition in the minimal standard model, at an unphysically small Higgs mass which gives a reasonably strong phase transition (lambda/g^2 =0.036, which corresponds to m(Higgs)/m(W) = 0.54 at tree level but does no…
We compute the probability distribution of the invariant separation between nucleation centers of colliding true vacuum bubbles arising from the decay of a false de Sitter space vacuum. We find that even in the limit of a very small nucleation rate per unit Hubble volume the production of widely separated bubble pairs is suppressed. This distribution is of particular relevance for the recently proposed ``colliding bubble braneworld'' scenario, in which the value of Omega_k (the contribution of negative spatial curvature to the cosmological density parameter) is determined by the invariant sepa…
We calculate gravitational wave power spectra from first order early Universe phase transitions using the Sound Shell Model. The model predicts that the power spectrum depends on the mean bubble separation, the phase transition strength, the phase boundary speed, with the overall frequency scale set by the nucleation temperature. There is also a dependence on the time evolution of the bubble nucleation rate. The gravitational wave peak power and frequency are in good agreement with published numerical simulations, where bubbles are nucleated simultaneously. Agreement is particularly good for d…
The electroweak phase transition and the sphaleron decoupling condition in the MSSM are revisited taking the latest experimental data into account. The light Higgs boson scenario and the ordinary decoupling limit which are classified by the relative size between the CP-odd Higgs boson mass and Z boson mass are considered within the context of electroweak baryogenesis. We investigate v/T at not only the critical temperature at which the effective potential has two degenerate minima but also the nucleation temperature of the critical bubbles, where v is a vacuum expectation value of the Higgs bo…
We generalize the standard computation of homogeneous nucleation theory at zero temperature to a scenario in which the bubble shape is determined self-consistently with its quantum fluctuations. Studying two scalar models in 1+1 dimensions, we find the self-consistent bounce by employing a two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective action in imaginary time at the level of the Hartree approximation. We thus obtain an effective single bounce action which determines the rate exponent. We use collective coordinates to account for the translational invariance and the growth instability of the bubble …
Subcritical bubble prehistory in weak first-order phase transition
Key Laboratory of Particle Physics and Particle Irradiation (MOE), Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science, Shandong University（粒子物理与粒子辐射教育部重点实验室，前沿交叉科学研究所，山东大学）；School of Physics, Henan Normal University（河南师范大学物理学院）；Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院理论物理研究所）
We analyze a new mechanism for the cosmological QCD first-order phase transition: inhomogeneous nucleation. The primordial temperature fluctuations are larger than the tiny temperature interval, in which bubbles would form in the standard picture of homogeneous nucleation. Thus the bubbles nucleate at cold spots. We find the typical distance between bubble centers to be a few meters. This exceeds the estimates from homogeneous nucleation by two orders of magnitude. The resulting baryon inhomogeneities may affect primordial nucleosynthesis.
