Related papers: Vacuum decay in quadratic gravity
We discuss aspects of the problem of assigning probabilities in eternal inflation. In particular, we investigate a recent suggestion that the lowest energy de Sitter vacuum in the landscape is effectively stable. The associated proposal for…
Spherical vacuum and scalar collapse for the Starobinsky R^2 model is simulated. Obtained by considering the quantum-gravitational effects, this model would admit some cases of singularity-free cosmological spacetimes. It is found, however,…
I point out that the usual Coleman-de Luccia analysis of tunnelling via instantons between perturbatively stable minima using the thin-wall approximation misses one of the effects of gravitational backreaction on the on-shell action and…
The d'Alembertian $\Box\phi=0$ has solution $\phi=f(v)/r$, where $f$ is a function of a null coordinate $v$, and this allows creation of a divergent singularity out of nothing. In scalar-Einstein theory a similar situation arises both for…
The positive energy theorem precludes the possibility of Minkowski flat space decaying by any mechanism. In certain circumstances, however, large quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field could arise---not only at the Planck scale,…
We consider the generalisation of quantum tunneling transitions in the WKB approximation to the time-independent functional Schr\"odinger and Wheeler-DeWitt equations. Following a Lorentzian approach, we compute the transition rates among…
We show that gravitational interactions between massless thermal modes and a nucleating Coleman-de Luccia bubble may lead to efficient decoherence and strongly suppress metastable vacuum decay for bubbles that are small compared to the…
We study the negative modes of gravitational instantons representing vacuum decay in asymptotically flat space-time. We consider two different vacuum decay scenarios: the Coleman-de Luccia $\mathrm{O}(4)$-symmetric bubble, and…
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…
We investigate stability of the Einstein static solution against homogeneous scalar, vector and tensor perturbations in the context of Rastall theory of gravity. We show that this solution in the presence of perfect fluid and vacuum energy…
We provide an analytical solution to the quantum dynamics of a flat Friedmann-Lema\^itre- Robertson-Walker model with a massless scalar field in the presence of a small and positive cosmological constant, in the context of Loop Quantum…
The $q$-theory formalism aims to describe the thermodynamics and dynamics of the deep quantum vacuum. The thermodynamics leads to an exact cancellation of the quantum-field zero-point-energies in equilibrium, which partly solves the main…
The entire classical cosmological history between two extreme de Sitter vacuum solutions is discussed based on Einstein's equations and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The initial non-singular de Sitter state is characterised by a very high…
In many cases a massive nonlinear scalar field can lead to accelerated expansion in cosmological models. This paper contains mathematical results on this subject for flat Robertson-Walker space-time. Global existence to the coupled…
We suggest a technique that explicitly accounts for the structure of an initial state of quantum field in the semiclassical calculations of path integral in curved space-time, and consider decay of metastable state (conformal vacuum of…
A free-theory vacuum state of an interacting field theory, e.g. quantum gravity, is unstable at tree level in general due to spontaneous emission of Fock-space particles in any spacetime with no global timelike Killing vectors, such as de…
Decay of a de Sitter vacuum may proceed through a "static" instanton, representing pair creation of critical bubbles separated by a distance comparable to the Hubble radius -- a process somewhat analogous to thermal activation in flat…
We consider the definition of the global vacuum state of a quantum scalar field on $n$-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-time as seen by an observer rotating about the polar axis. Since positive (or negative) frequency scalar field modes…
We study the Einstein-scalar field system with positive cosmological constant and spherically symmetric characteristic initial data given on a truncated null cone. We prove well-posedness, global existence and exponential decay in (Bondi)…
By regarding the vacuum as a perfect fluid with equation of state p=-rho, de Sitter's cosmological model is quantized. Our treatment differs from previous ones in that it endows the vacuum with dynamical degrees of freedom. Instead of being…