Symmetry restoration and vacuum decay from accretion around black holes
Vacuum decay and symmetry breaking play an important role in the fundamental structure of the matter and the evolution of the Universe. In this work we study how the purely classical effect of accretion of fundamental fields onto black holes can lead to shells of symmetry restoration in the midst of a symmetry broken phase. We also show how it can catalyze vacuum decay, forming a bubble that expands asymptotically at the speed of light. These effects offer an alternative, purely classical mechanism to quantum tunneling for seeding phase transitions in the Universe.
Authors
- Josu C. Aurrekoetxea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9584-5791)
- Katy Clough (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8841-1522)
- Pedro G. Ferreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3021-2851)
- James Marsden
Institutions
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Published
- 2025-02-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.l041501
- Primary Topic
- Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Queen Mary University of London
- Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, UK Government
- UK Research and Innovation
- University of Leicester
- Durham University
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Science and Technology Facilities Council