Finite Bubble Statistics Constrain Late Cosmological Phase Transitions

We consider first order cosmological phase transitions (PTs) happening at late times below standard model temperatures T_{PT}≲GeV. The inherently stochastic nature of bubble nucleation and the finite number of bubbles associated with a late-time PT lead to superhorizon fluctuations in the PT completion time. We compute how such fluctuations eventually source curvature fluctuations with universal properties, independent of the microphysics of the PT dynamics. Using cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large scale structure measurements, we constrain the energy released in a dark-sector PT. For 0.1 eV≲T_{PT}≲keV this constraint is stronger than both the current bound from additional neutrino species ΔN_{eff}, and in some cases, even CMB-S4 projections. Future measurements of CMB spectral distortions and pulsar timing arrays will also provide competitive sensitivity for keV≲T_{PT}≲GeV.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2024-11-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.133.211003
Citations
13
Primary Topic
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.31

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Finite Bubble Statistics Constrain Late Cosmological Phase Transitions

Ryusuke Jinno, Yuhsin Tsai, Soubhik Kumar, Gilly Elor et al.
13 citations
Physical Review Letters
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
4.31
article

Finite Bubble Statistics Constrain Late Cosmological Phase Transitions

Ryusuke Jinno, Yuhsin Tsai, Soubhik Kumar, Gilly Elor, Robert McGehee
article en
13 citations

Abstract

We consider first order cosmological phase transitions (PTs) happening at late times below standard model temperatures T_{PT}≲GeV. The inherently stochastic nature of bubble nucleation and the finite number of bubbles associated with a late-time PT lead to superhorizon fluctuations in the PT completion time. We compute how such fluctuations eventually source curvature fluctuations with universal properties, independent of the microphysics of the PT dynamics. Using cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large scale structure measurements, we constrain the energy released in a dark-sector PT. For 0.1 eV≲T_{PT}≲keV this constraint is stronger than both the current bound from additional neutrino species ΔN_{eff}, and in some cases, even CMB-S4 projections. Future measurements of CMB spectral distortions and pulsar timing arrays will also provide competitive sensitivity for keV≲T_{PT}≲GeV.

Physical Review LettersVol. 133(21)
University of Notre Dame (US), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US), University of Michigan (US), University of Minnesota System (US), University of California System (US), New York University (US), Kobe University (JP), The University of Tokyo (JP), The University of Texas at Austin (US)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Simons Foundation, Aspen Center for Physics, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
4.31
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Finite Bubble Statistics Constrain Late Cosmological Phase Transitions — Ryusuke Jinno, Yuhsin Tsai, et al. · Physical Review Letters (2024) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS