Related papers: Bubble nucleation at zero and nonzero temperatures
We investigate quantum tunneling in the theory of a complex scalar field with a global $U(1)$ symmetry when the charge density of the initial configuration does not vanish. We discuss the possible final configurations and set up the…
We propose a relationship between thermodynamic phase transitions and ground-state quantum phase transitions in systems with variable Hamiltonian parameters. It is based on a link between zeros of the canonical partition function at complex…
Phase transitions which occur at zero temperature when some non-thermal parameter like pressure, chemical composition or magnetic field is changed are called quantum phase transitions. They are caused by quantum fluctuations which are a…
In a finite temperature Thomas-Fermi framework, we calculate density distributions of hot nuclei enclosed in a freeze-out volume of few times the normal nuclear volume and then construct the caloric curve, with and without inclusion of…
The phenomenon of quantum nucleation is studied in a nanometer-scale antiferromagnet with biaxial symmetry in the presence of a magnetic field at an arbitrary angle. Within the instanton approach, we calculate the dependence of the rate of…
The fundamental vacuum state of quantum fields, related to Minkowski space, produces divergent fluctuations that must be suppressed in order to bring reality to the description of physical systems. As a consequence, negative vacuum…
We present a theory of false vacuum decay induced by spherical nucleation seeds. The type of seed considered has a boundary characterised by surface energy terms. The theory applies to false vacuum decay at zero and finite temperatures.…
We systematically explore and show the existence of finite-temperature continuous quantum phase transition (CTQPT) at a critical point, namely, during solidification or melting such that the first-order thermal phase transition is a special…
Controlling and measuring the temperature in different devices and platforms that operate in the quantum regime is, without any doubt, essential for any potential application. In this review, we report the most recent theoretical…
We develop semiclassical methods for studying bubble nucleation in models with parameters that vary slowly in time. Introducing a more general rotation of the time contour allows access to a larger set of final states, and typically a…
Motivated by cosmological first-order phase transitions we examine the nucleation and evolution of vacuum bubbles in non-vacuum environments. Non-standard backgrounds can be relevant in the context of rapid tunneling processes on the…
We point out that the (pseudo-)conformal Universe scenario may be realized as decay of conformally invariant, metastable vacuum, which proceeds via spontaneous nucleation and subsequent growth of a bubble of a putative new phase. We study…
We study two small quantum systems coupled to the same reservoir which is in thermal equilibrium. By studying the particle density and the energy density in the two systems before and after they contact each other, we find that the two…
The periodic bounce configurations responsible for quantum tunneling are obtained explicitly and are extended to the finite energy case for minisuperspace models of the Universe. As a common feature of the tunneling models at finite energy…
A quantum system and a thermal bath can reach thermal equilibrium through an interaction, whereupon the system acquires the same temperature as the bath. But how does a delocalised quantum system thermalise with a bath whose local…
The thermodynamic behavior of a decaying vacuum cosmology describing the entire cosmological history evolving between two extreme (early and late time) de Sitter eras is investigated. The thermal evolution from the early de Sitter to the…
It has recently been argued that bubble nucleation in ekpyrotic and cyclic cosmological scenarios can lead to unacceptable inhomogeneities unless certain constraints are satisfied. In this paper we show that this is not the case. We find…
The liquid-vapor transition is a classic example of a discontinuous (first-order) phase transition. Such transitions underlie many phenomena in cosmology, nuclear and particle physics, and condensed-matter physics. They give rise to…
The sequence of phase transitions during the hot history of the universe is followed within a phenomenological framework. Particular emphasis is put on the QCD confinement transition, which is at reach under earth laboratory conditions. A…
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…