Gravitationally compact objects as nucleation sites for first-order vacuum phase transitions

Journal Article · Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 1992 · Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.45.4411· OSTI ID:7287488

Samuel, D A; Hiscock, W A ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717 (United States)

A characteristic of first-order phase transitions is their ability to be initiated by nucleation sites. In this paper we consider the role that gravitationally compact objects may play as nucleation sites for first-order phase transitions within quantum fields. As the presence of nucleation sites may prevent the onset of supercooling, the existence of nucleation sites for phase transitions within quantum fields may play an important role in some inflationary models of the Universe, in which the Universe is required to exist in a supercooled state for a period of time. In this paper we calculate the Euclidean action for an O(3) bubble nucleating about a gravitationally compact object, taken to be a boson star for simplicity. The gravitational field of the boson star is taken to be a small perturbation on flat space, and the O(3) action is calculated to linear order as a perturbation on the O(4) action. The Euclidean bubble profile is found by solving the (Higgs) scalar field equation numerically; the thin-wall approximation is not used. The gravitationally compact objects are found to have the effect of reducing the Euclidean action of the nucleating bubble, as compared to the Euclidean action for the bubble in flat spacetime. The effect is strongest when the size of the gravitationally compact object is comparable to the size of the nucleating bubble. Further, the size of the decrease in action increases as the nucleating star'' is made more gravitationally compact. Thus, gravitationally compact objects may play the role of nucleation sites. However, their importance to the process of false-vacuum decay is strongly dependent upon their number density within the Universe.

• OSTI ID: 7287488
• Journal Information: Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (United States), Vol. 45:12; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
NUCLEATION
UNIVERSE
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
BUBBLE GROWTH
ENERGY DENSITY
EUCLIDEAN SPACE
NEUTRON STARS
O GROUPS
PERTURBATION THEORY
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
SCALAR FIELDS
SELF-ENERGY
SPACE-TIME
SYMMETRY BREAKING
VACUUM STATES
DYNAMICAL GROUPS
ENERGY
FIELD THEORIES
LIE GROUPS
MATHEMATICAL SPACE
RIEMANN SPACE
SPACE
STARS
SYMMETRY GROUPS
662110* - General Theory of Particles & Fields- Theory of Fields & Strings- (1992-)
662120 - General Theory of Particles & Fields- Symmetry
Conservation Laws
Currents & Their Properties- (1992-)