False vacuum decay: an introductory review
Federica Devoto, Simone Devoto, Luca Di Luzio, Giovanni Ridolfi
Abstract
Abstract We review the description of tunnelling phenomena in the semi-classical approximation in ordinary quantum mechanics and in quantum field theory. In particular, we describe in detail the calculation, up to the first quantum corrections, of the decay probability per unit time of a metastable ground state. We apply the relevant formalism to the case of the standard model of electroweak interactions, whose ground state is metastable for sufficiently large values of the top quark mass. Finally, we discuss the impact of gravitational interactions on the calculation of the tunnelling rate.
Topics & Concepts
Electroweak interactionQuantum tunnellingMetastabilityPhysicsFalse vacuumQuantumFormalism (music)Ground stateQuantum mechanicsQuantum field theoryQuantization (signal processing)Theoretical physicsQuantum electrodynamicsMathematicsMusicalVisual artsArtAlgorithmParticle physics theoretical and experimental studiesQuantum Chromodynamics and Particle InteractionsCosmology and Gravitation Theories