Related papers: Quantum and Gradient Corrections to False Vacuum D…
We consider quantum Einstein gravity in three dimensional de Sitter space. The Euclidean path integral is formulated as a sum over geometries, including both perturbative loop corrections and non-perturbative instanton corrections coming…
The Euclidean or Bunch-Davies O(4,1) invariant 'vacuum' state of quantum fields in global de Sitter space is shown to be unstable to small perturbations, even for a massive free field with no self-interactions. There are perturbations of…
We study the possibility of forming the false vacuum bubble nucleated within the true vacuum background via the true-to-false vacuum phase transition in curved spacetime. We consider a semiclassical Euclidean bubble in the Einstein theory…
We investigate the decay rate of a false vacuum state in de Sitter space at high Hubble rates, using two methods: the Hawking-Moss instanton method which is fully quantum mechanical but relies on the saddle-point approximation, and the…
It is found that de-Sitter spacetime, the constant-curvature matter-free solution of the Einstein equations with a positive cosmological constant, becomes classically unstable due to the dynamic effects of a certain type of vector field…
Bubbles of nothing are a class of vacuum decay processes present in some theories with compactified extra dimensions. We investigate the existence and properties of bubbles of nothing in models where the scalar pseudomoduli controlling the…
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…
A method of general applicability has been developed, whereby the null geodesic equations of the Einstein-Straus-de Sitter metric can be integrated simultaneously in terms of the curvature constant $k$. The purpose is to generalize the…
When the vacuum state of a scalar or electromagnetic field is modified by the presence of a reflecting boundary, an interacting test particle undergoes velocity fluctuations. Such effect is regarded as a sort of quantum analog of the…
We provide a novel, concise and self-contained evaluation of true- and false vacuum decay rates in general relativity. We insist on general covariance and choose observable boundary conditions, which yields the well known false-vacuum decay…
Classical gravity coupled to a CFT$_4$ (matter) is considered. The effect of the quantum dynamics of matter on gravity is studied around maximally symmetric spaces (flat, de Sitter and Anti de Sitter). The structure of the graviton…
A recent analysis of the false-vacuum decay in non-perturbative regimes is here extended in the presence of Einstein gravity, computing the corresponding effective potential and decay rate. We consider a $\lambda \phi^4$ scalar field theory…
A phase-space approach to quantum-deformed gravity is developed. Following its reduction to an effective four-dimensional spacetime structure, we utilize it in reanalyzing the cosmic inflationary dynamics and quantum gravity. The…
The action of the discrete symmetries on the scalar mode functions of the de Sitter spacetime is studied. The invariance with respect to a combination of discrete symmetries is put forward as a criterion to select a certain vacuum out of a…
We derive covariant expressions for the one loop vacuum polarization induced by a charged scalar on de Sitter background. Two forms are employed: one in which two covariant derivatives act on de Sitter invariant basis tensors multiplied by…
To resolve infrared problems with the de~Sitter invariant vacuum, we argue that the history of the de~Sitter phase is crucial. We illustrate how either (1)~the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian for long-wavelength modes or (2)~an explicit…
We present the first detailed study of the kinematics of free relativistic particles whose symmetries are described by a quantum deformation of the de Sitter algebra, known as $q$-de Sitter Hopf algebra. The quantum deformation parameter is…
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…
The pre-inflationary evolution of the universe describes the beginning of the expansion from a static initial state, such that the Hubble parameter is initially zero, but increases to an asymptotic constant value, in which it could achieve…
We present the first steps needed for an analysis of the perturbations that occur in the cosmology associated with the conformal gravity theory. We discuss the implications of conformal invariance for perturbative coordinate gauge choices,…