Vacua on the Brink of Decay

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 2018
Host editors
  • M.-L. Ge
  • A.J. Niemi
  • K.K. Phua
  • L.A. Takhtajan
Book title Ludwig Faddeev Memorial Volume
Book subtitle A Life in Mathematical Physics
ISBN
  • 9789813233768
ISBN (electronic)
  • 9789813233874
Pages (from-to) 399-417
Publisher Singapore: World Scientific
Organisations
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Institute of Physics (IoP) - Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam (ITFA)
Abstract We consider free massive matter fields in static scalar, electric and gravitational backgrounds. Tuning these backgrounds to the brink of vacuum decay, we identify a term in their effective action that is singular. This singular term is universal, being independent of the features of the background configuration. In the case of gravitational backgrounds, it can be interpreted as a quantum mechanical analog of Choptuik scaling. If the background is tuned slightly above the instability threshold, this singular term gives the leading contribution to the vacuum decay rate.
Document type Chapter
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1142/9789813233867_0020
Downloads
1803.09168 (Submitted manuscript)
Permalink to this page
Back