Gravitationally dominated instantons and instability of dS, AdS and Minkowski spaces

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Mukhanov, Viatcheslav F., Oz, Yaron, Sorin, Alexander S.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Mukhanov, Viatcheslav F.
Oz, Yaron
Sorin, Alexander S.
author_facet Mukhanov, Viatcheslav F.
Oz, Yaron
Sorin, Alexander S.
contents We study the decay of the false vacuum in the regime where the quantum field theory analysis is not valid, since gravitational effects become important. This happens when the height of the barrier separating the false and the true vacuum is large, and it has implications for the instability of de Sitter, Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua. We carry out the calculations for a scalar field with a potential coupled to gravity, and work within the thin-wall approximation, where the bubble wall is thin compared to the size of the bubble. We show that the false de Sitter vacuum is unstable, independently of the height of the potential and the relative depth of the true vacuum compared to the false vacuum. The false Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua can be stable despite the existence of a lower energy true vacuum. However, when the relative depth of the true and false vacua exceeds a critical value, which depends on the potential of the false vacuum and the height of the barrier, then the false Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua become unstable. We calculate the probability for the decay of the false de Sitter, Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua, as a function of the parameters characterizing the field potential.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_11221
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gravitationally dominated instantons and instability of dS, AdS and Minkowski spaces
Mukhanov, Viatcheslav F.
Oz, Yaron
Sorin, Alexander S.
High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Mathematical Physics
Quantum Physics
We study the decay of the false vacuum in the regime where the quantum field theory analysis is not valid, since gravitational effects become important. This happens when the height of the barrier separating the false and the true vacuum is large, and it has implications for the instability of de Sitter, Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua. We carry out the calculations for a scalar field with a potential coupled to gravity, and work within the thin-wall approximation, where the bubble wall is thin compared to the size of the bubble. We show that the false de Sitter vacuum is unstable, independently of the height of the potential and the relative depth of the true vacuum compared to the false vacuum. The false Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua can be stable despite the existence of a lower energy true vacuum. However, when the relative depth of the true and false vacua exceeds a critical value, which depends on the potential of the false vacuum and the height of the barrier, then the false Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua become unstable. We calculate the probability for the decay of the false de Sitter, Minkowski and anti-de Sitter vacua, as a function of the parameters characterizing the field potential.
title Gravitationally dominated instantons and instability of dS, AdS and Minkowski spaces
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Mathematical Physics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.11221