Related papers: Tunneling decay of false kinks
The tunneling decay rate per unit volume in Quantum Field Theory (QFT), at order $\hbar$, is given by $\Gamma/V = Ae^{-B}$, where $B$ is the Euclidean action evaluated at the so-called bounce, and $A$ is proportional to the determinant of a…
The decay rate of a false vacuum is studied in gauge theory, paying particular attention to its gauge invariance. Although the decay rate should not depend on the gauge parameter $\xi$ according to the Nielsen identity, the gauge invariance…
With the standard system for an SU(2) Higgs field in M_4 X S_1, the top and bottom component of the Higgs spinor have exactly the same coeficients for the quadratic and quadric terms. This makes the vacuum degenerate and thus there are no…
We analyze vacuum tunneling in quantum field theory in a general formalism by using the Wigner representation. In the standard instanton formalism, one usually approximates the initial false vacuum state by an eigenstate of the field…
We consider a real scalar field equation in dimension 1+1 with an even positive self-interaction potential having two non-degenerate zeros (vacua) 1 and -1. It is known that such a model admits non-trivial static solutions called kinks and…
An Euclidean bounce describing vacuum decay can be considered as an infinite stack of concentric thin shells to which a thin-wall action can be assigned. The integral over all shells produces then a tunneling action that is precisely the…
In this brief note, by applying the stochastic approach to multiple fields, we estimate the probability of tunneling between vacua in a landscape with $\cal N$ fields. We find that the probability can be enhanced by large $\cal N$. When…
We introduce a new picture of vacuum decay which, in contrast to existing semiclassical techniques, provides a real-time description and does not rely on classically-forbidden tunneling paths. Using lattice simulations, we observe vacuum…
We study the problem of false vacuum decay in arbitrary dimensions, in the presence of gravity, and compute the transition probability within the thin-wall approximation, generalising the results of Coleman and de Luccia. In the particular…
The Euclidean bounce for vacuum decay enjoys an $O(4)$ symmetry that is lost in the presence of impurities than can catalyze the decay. We present a formulation for the calculation of the tunneling decay action, that is explicitly positive…
Tunneling is a fascinating aspect of quantum mechanics that renders the local minima of a potential meta-stable, with important consequences for particle physics, for the early hot stage of the universe, and more speculatively, for the…
Using numerical and analytic methods, we study quantum tunneling from a Minkowski false vacuum to an anti-de Sitter true vacuum. Scanning the parameter space of theories with quartic and non-polynomial potentials, we find that for any given…
Quasiclassical methods are used to define dynamical tunneling times in models of quantum cosmological bounces. These methods provide relevant new information compared with the traditional treatment of quantum tunneling by means of tunneling…
We compute tunneling in a quantum field theory in 1+1 dimensions for a field potential $U(\Phi)$ of the asymmetric double well type. The system is localized initially in the ``false vacuum''. We consider the case of a {\em compact space}…
We study the false vacuum decay of a single scalar field $\phi$ coupled to gravity described by the Coleman-de Luccia (CdL) instanton. We show that it is possible to numerically calculate the bounce factor, which is related to the CdL…
A simple theory for the tunneling of two cold atoms out of a trap in the presence of an attractive contact force is developed. Two competing decay channels, respectively for single-atom and bound-pair tunneling, contribute independently to…
A state of an electron in a quantum wire or a thin film becomes metastable, when a static electric field is applied perpendicular to the wire direction or the film surface. The state decays via tunneling through the created potential…
Tunneling in quantum field theory is worth understanding properly, not least because it controls the long term fate of our universe. There are however, a number of features of tunneling rate calculations which lack a desirable transparency,…
The tunneling potential formalism, an alternative to the standard Coleman Euclidean approach, offers in a natural way a unified view of vacuum decays. In particular, I show in this talk how Coleman's bounce is just a member of a continuous…
Various aspects of time-dependent processes are studied within the large N approximation of O(N) vector models in three dimensions. These include the rolling of fields, the tunneling and decay of vacua. We present an exact solution for the…