Cosmological phase transitions at three loops: the final verdict on perturbation theory

Abstract

We complete the perturbative program for equilibrium thermodynamics of cosmological first-order phase transitions by determining the finite-temperature effective potential of gauge-Higgs theories at next-to-next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N${}^4$LO). The computation of the three-loop effective potential required to reach this order is extended to generic models in dimensionally reduced effective theories in a companion article. Our N${}^4$LO result is the last perturbative order before confinement renders electroweak gauge-Higgs theories non-perturbative at four loops. By contrasting our analysis with non-perturbative lattice results, we find a remarkable agreement. As a direct application for predictions of gravitational waves produced by a first-order transition, our computation provides the final fully perturbative results for the phase transition strength and speed of sound.

20 pages; 6 figures; 4 tables