Related papers: Phase transitions in general gravity theories
If a theory has more than one classically stable vacuum, quantum tunneling and thermal jumps make the transition between the vacua possible. The transition happens through a first order phase transition started by nucleation of a bubble of…
The study of cosmic phase transitions are of central interest in modern cosmology. In the standard model of cosmology the Universe begins in a very hot state, right after at the end of inflation via the process of reheating/preheating, and…
One of the major open problems in theoretical physics is a consistent quantum gravity theory.Recent developments in thermodynamic phase transitions ofblack holes and their van der Waals-like behavior may provide an interesting quantum…
We investigate a novel mechanism for phase transitions that is a distinctive feature of higher-curvature gravity theories. For definiteness, we bound ourselves to the case of Lovelock gravities. These theories are known to have several…
The dynamics of phase transitions plays a crucial r\^ole in the so-called interface between high energy particle physics and cosmology. Many of the interesting results generated during the last fifteen years or so rely on simplified…
The most important recent results in the theory of phase transitions and quantum effects in quantum anharmonic crystals are presented and discussed. In particular, necessary and sufficient conditions for a phase transition to occur at some…
In recent years, quantum phase transitions have attracted the interest of both theorists and experimentalists in condensed matter physics. These transitions, which are accessed at zero temperature by variation of a non-thermal control…
One of the most fundamental questions we can ask about a given gauge theory is its phase diagram. In the standard model, we observe three fundamentally different types of behavior: QCD is in a confined phase at zero temperature, while the…
A dynamical description of the transitions between different backgrounds requires the existence of a background independent action which propagates the correct number of degrees of freedom and couples bulk supergravity to certain higher…
Lattice regularization of the theory of gravity provides a new possibility for study of the Big Bang problem. In the 4D lattice theories of gravity, the existence of a high-temperature phase is proved, which is characterized by the folding…
We set forth a new type of phase transition that might take place in gravitational theories whenever higher-curvature corrections are considered. It can be regarded as a sophisticated version of the Hawking-Page transition, mediated by the…
A first order phase transition usually proceeds by nucleating bubbles of the new phase which then rapidly expand. In confining gauge theories with a gravity dual, the deconfined phase is often described by a black hole. If one starts in…
We discuss here phase transitions in quantum field theory in the context of vacuum realignment through an explicit construction. Vacuum destabilisation may occur through a scalar attaining a nonzero expectation value, or through a…
We study "vacuum crossing", which occurs when the vacua of a theory are exchanged as we vary some periodic parameter $\theta$ in a closed loop. We show that vacuum crossing is a useful non-perturbative tool to study strongly-coupled quantum…
The concept of the space-time as emerging in the world phase transition, vs. a priori exiting, is put forward. The theory of gravity with two basic symmetries, the global affine one and the general covariance, is developed. Implications for…
We prove here well-posedness and convergence to equilibria for the solution trajectories associated to a model for solidification of a liquid content of a rigid container in a gravity field. We observe that the gravity effects, which can be…
The concept of the space-time as emerging in the world phase transition, vs. a priori existing, is put forward. The theory of gravity with two basic symmetries, the global affine one and the general covariance, is developed. Implications…
In this lecture at a school for condensed matter physicists, I begin with basic concepts and tools for investigating phase transitions in quantum field theory. The very different roles of global and gauge symmetries in phase transitions…
Quantum phase transitions encompass a variety of phenomena that occur in quantum systems exhibiting several possible symmetries. Traditionally, these transitions are explored by continuously varying a control parameter that connects two…
The investigation of the Hamiltonian dynamical counterpart of phase transitions, combined with the Riemannian geometrization of Hamiltonian dynamics, has led to a preliminary formulation of a differential-topological theory of phase…