WallGo investigates: Theoretical uncertainties in the bubble wall velocity

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: van de Vis, Jorinde, Schicho, Philipp, Niemi, Lauri, Laurent, Benoit, Hirvonen, Joonas, Gould, Oliver
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866912733889298432
author van de Vis, Jorinde
Schicho, Philipp
Niemi, Lauri
Laurent, Benoit
Hirvonen, Joonas
Gould, Oliver
author_facet van de Vis, Jorinde
Schicho, Philipp
Niemi, Lauri
Laurent, Benoit
Hirvonen, Joonas
Gould, Oliver
contents We examine theoretical uncertainties in state-of-the-art calculations of the bubble wall velocity during first-order cosmological phase transitions. By utilising the software WallGo for two extensions of the Standard Model, we find several $O(1)$ uncertainties arising from the number of particles taken out of equilibrium, the logarithmically and power enhanced collision integrals, the treatment of thermal masses, the nucleation temperature, the $\tanh$ ansatz, and the perturbative order of the effective potential. However, we show that the linearisation of the Boltzmann equations is generally a good approximation with much smaller associated errors. We further clarify the limitations of the quasiparticle approximation in regions with negative mass squared. This study provides a detailed uncertainty budget and highlights where future efforts should be directed to improve the reliability of wall velocity and hence gravitational wave predictions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_27691
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle WallGo investigates: Theoretical uncertainties in the bubble wall velocity
van de Vis, Jorinde
Schicho, Philipp
Niemi, Lauri
Laurent, Benoit
Hirvonen, Joonas
Gould, Oliver
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
We examine theoretical uncertainties in state-of-the-art calculations of the bubble wall velocity during first-order cosmological phase transitions. By utilising the software WallGo for two extensions of the Standard Model, we find several $O(1)$ uncertainties arising from the number of particles taken out of equilibrium, the logarithmically and power enhanced collision integrals, the treatment of thermal masses, the nucleation temperature, the $\tanh$ ansatz, and the perturbative order of the effective potential. However, we show that the linearisation of the Boltzmann equations is generally a good approximation with much smaller associated errors. We further clarify the limitations of the quasiparticle approximation in regions with negative mass squared. This study provides a detailed uncertainty budget and highlights where future efforts should be directed to improve the reliability of wall velocity and hence gravitational wave predictions.
title WallGo investigates: Theoretical uncertainties in the bubble wall velocity
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.27691