Logarithmically divergent friction on ultrarelativistic bubble walls

Abstract

We calculate the friction experienced by ultrarelativistic bubble walls resulting from the 1 → 2 light-to-heavy transition process, with finite-wall-width effects fully taken into account. In this process, the light particle is excited from the order-parameter scalar field, while the two heavy particles are excitations of a dark matter scalar field. Unlike earlier estimates suggesting a friction scaling as γw 0, where γw represents the Lorentz factor of the wall velocity, our more precise numerical analysis reveals a logarithmic dependence of the friction on γw . We offer a numerical fit to capture this frictional pressure accurately. Our analysis verifies that the friction stemming from the 1 → 2 light-to-heavy transition is typically much smaller than the friction from the 1 → 1 transmission of the dark matter particles.