Collapsing Sub-Critical Bubbles

Abstract

In the standard scenario, the electroweak phase transition is a first order phase transition which completes by the nucleation of critical bubbles. Recently, there has been speculation that the standard picture of the electroweak phase transition is incorrect. Instead, it has been proposed that throughout the phase transition appreciable amounts of both broken and unbroken phases of $SU(2)$ coexist in equilibrium. I argue that this can not be the case. General principles insure that the universe will remain in a homogenous state of unbroken $SU(2)$ until the onset of critical bubble production.

7 pages plus three figures. OHSTPY-HEP-T-92-016 A topdrawer file of the figures is appended to the end

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Oscillons: Resonant Configurations During Bubble Collapse
• Numerical approach to the onset of the electroweak phase transition
• Kinetics of Sub-Critical Bubbles and the Electroweak Transition
• Thermal Fluctuations and Validity of the 1-Loop Effective Potential
• Expanding Bubbles in a Thermal Background
• Are oscillons present during a first order electroweak phase transition?
• Do subcritical bubbles hinder first order phase transition?
• Electroweak Baryogenesis: A Status Report
• A Stochastic Approach to Thermal Fluctuations during a First Order Electroweak Phase Transition