Symmetry of Bounce Solutions at Finite Temperature

Abstract

The seminal work of Coleman, Glaser, and Martin established that, at zero temperature, any non-trivial solution to the equations of motion with the least Euclidean action is $O(D)$-symmetric. This paper extends their foundational analysis to finite temperature. We rigorously prove that for a broad class of scalar potentials, any saddle-point configuration with the least action is necessarily $O(D-1)$-symmetric and monotonic in the spatial directions. This result provides a firm mathematical justification for the symmetry properties widely assumed in studies of thermal vacuum decay and cosmological phase transitions.

31 pages, 0 figures; journal version