In first-order phase transitions in the early universe, the bubble wall is expected to be significantly slowed-down by its interaction with the surrounding plasma. We examine the behaviour of the phase of the Higgs field after two-bubble collisions, and find that phase differences equilibrate much more quickly in slow-moving bubbles than in those which expand at the speed of light. This could lead to a significant reduction in the initial density of topological defects formed at a first-order phase transition.
@article{arxiv.hep-ph/0001241,
title = {First-Order Phase Transitions in an Early-Universe Environment},
author = {Matthew Lilley},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-ph/0001241},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Proceedings of the International Workshop on Particle Physics and the Early Universe (COSMO 99), Trieste, Italy, September 27 - October 2, 1999