Cosmological phase transition: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:54, 25 January 2025

Revision as of 23:14, 25 January 2025

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Any cosmological phase transition may have left signals which are observable today, even if it took place in the first moments after the Big Bang, when the universe was [[cosmic microwave background|opaque to light]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kibble |first1=T. W. B. |title=Some implications of a Cosmological Phase Transition |journal=Phys. Rep. |date=1980 |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=183–199 |doi=10.1016/0370-1573(80)90091-5|bibcode=1980PhR....67..183K }}</ref>

== Character ==

==Cosmological first-order phase transitions==

Theories like the [[Standard model]] of particle physics parameterized by values measured in laboratories can be used to predict the nature of cosmic phase transitions.<ref name=Manzudar-2019>{{Cite journal |last=Mazumdar |first=Anupam |last2=White |first2=Graham |date=2019-06-25 |title=Review of cosmic phase transitions: their significance and experimental signatures |journal=Reports on Progress in Physics |volume=82 |issue=7 |pages=076901 |doi=10.1088/1361-6633/ab1f55 |issn=0034-4885}}</ref> A system in the ground state at a high temperature changes as the temperature drops due to expansion of the universe. A new ground state may become favorable and a transition between the states is a phase transition.<ref name=Manzudar-2019/>{{rp|9}}

=== Transition order ===

Phase transitions can be categorised by their [[Phase Transition#Classifications|order]]. Transitions which are first order proceed via [[False_vacuum_decay#Bubble_nucleation|bubble nucleation]] and release [[latent heat]] as the bubbles expand.

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File:Simulation_of_a_cosmological_thermal_phase_transition,_late_times.jpg|Later stages: overlapping bubble collisions.

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Second order transitions are continuous rather than abrupt and are less likely to leave observable imprints cosmic structures.<ref name=Manzudar-2019/>

==Examples==