New Semiclassical Picture of Vacuum Decay.

Jonathan Braden,Matthew C. Johnson,Andrew Pontzen,Silke Weinfurtner,Hiranya V. Peiris

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.123.031601

Abstract

We introduce a new picture of vacuum decay which, in contrast to existing semiclassical techniques, provides a real-time description and does not rely on classically forbidden tunneling paths. Using lattice simulations, we observe vacuum decay via bubble formation by generating realizations of vacuum fluctuations and evolving with the classical equations of motion. The decay rate obtained from an ensemble of simulations is in excellent agreement with existing techniques. Future applications include bubble correlation functions, fast decay rates, and decay of nonvacuum states.

Highlights

Introduction.—Field theories with complex interaction potentials arise in a diverse range of physical applications: from cosmological theories of the multiverse inspired by string theory [1,2], to cold atom Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) [3,4,5], to the dynamics of protein folding [6]
We propose an alternative picture of vacuum decay, in which the classical evolution of the field from some initial realization of the false vacuum fluctuations leads to the emergence of bubbles
We reexamine the nature of bubble nucleations during false vacuum decay in relativistic scalar field theory using

Summary

Introduction

Introduction.—Field theories with complex interaction potentials arise in a diverse range of physical applications: from cosmological theories of the multiverse inspired by string theory [1,2], to cold atom Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) [3,4,5], to the dynamics of protein folding [6]. We observe vacuum decay via bubble formation by generating realizations of vacuum fluctuations and evolving with the classical equations of motion. We propose an alternative picture of vacuum decay, in which the classical evolution of the field from some initial realization of the false vacuum fluctuations leads to the emergence of bubbles.

Results

Conclusion