Related papers: Bubble-nucleation rates for cosmological phase tra…
We calculate the bubble nucleation rate in a fourth-order gravity theory whose action contains an $R^2$ term, under the thin-wall approximation, by two different methods. First the bounce solution is found for the Euclidean version of the…
We consider first order cosmological phase transitions (PT) happening at late times, below Standard Model (SM) temperatures $T_{\rm PT} \lesssim$ GeV. The inherently stochastic nature of bubble nucleation and the finite number of bubbles…
In this paper we show how to compute in a consistent way nucleation rates in field theory at finite temperatures, with metastable vacuum. Using the semiclassical approach in field theory at finite temperature we show that the prefactor term…
The dynamics of the true-vacuum bubbles nucleated during a first-order phase transition is affected by the distribution functions of the particle species in the plasma, driven out-of-equilibrium by the travelling domain wall. An accurate…
To calculate the temperature at which a first-order cosmological phase transition occurs, one must calculate $F_c(T)$, the free energy of a critical bubble configuration. $F_c(T)$ is often approximated by the classical energy plus an…
The nucleation rates derived for the condensation from a supersaturated vapor are examined both in the classical theory and in the modern coarse-grained field theory. By virtue of the scaling variable $\lambda_Z$ it is shown that the method…
First-order phase transitions occur through the nucleation of critical bubbles of the stable phase within the metastable phase. Using holography, we present a fully microscopic description of these bubbles in a strongly coupled,…
We calculate the velocity and thickness of a bubble wall at the electroweak phase transition in the Minimal Standard Model. We model the wall with semiclassical equations of motion and show that friction arises from the deviation of massive…
Recent progress in the theory of the electroweak phase transition is discussed. For the Higgs boson mass smaller than the masses of W and Z bosons, the phase transition is of the first order. However, its strength is approximately 2/3 times…
A line of first-order phase transitions is conjectured in the phase diagram of Quantum Chromodynamics at non-zero baryon density. If this is the case, numerical simulations of neutron star mergers suggest that various regions of the stars…
Metastable `false' vacuum states are an important feature of the Standard Model of particle physics and many theories beyond it. Describing the dynamics of a phase transition out of a false vacuum via the nucleation of bubbles is essential…
Standard calculations of cosmological first-order phase transitions usually assume critical bubbles to nucleate on a homogeneous symmetric vacuum background. However, this assumption can fail in weak transitions, where thermal fluctuations…
Quantum shape-phase transitions in finite nuclei are considered in the framework of the interacting boson model. Critical-point Hamiltonians for first- and second-order transitions are identified by resolving them into intrinsic and…
We consider a generic first-order phase transition at finite temperature and investigate to what extent a population of primordial black holes, of variable masses, can affect the rate of bubble nucleation. Using a thin-wall approximation,…
Using the holographic correspondence as a tool, we determine the steady-state velocity of expanding vacuum bubbles nucleated within chiral finite temperature first-order phase transitions occurring in strongly-coupled large $N$ QCD-like…
Physical processes related to cosmological first-order phase transitions are discussed and reviewed in this introductory part of dissertation. I first describe cosmological phase transitions on a general level, concentrating on bubble…
We study how bubbles grow after the initial nucleation event in generic first-order cosmological phase transitions characterised by the values of latent heat, interface tension and correlation length, and driven by a scalar order parameter…
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…
We study the velocity of bubble walls in the electroweak phase transition. For several extensions of the Standard Model, we estimate the friction and calculate the wall velocity, taking into account the hydrodynamics. We find that…
We present numerical results on bubble profiles, nucleation rates and time evolution for a weakly first-order quark-hadron phase transition in different expansion scenarios. We confirm the standard picture of a cosmological first-order…