A New Mechanism for Bubble Nucleation: Classical Transitions

Abstract

Given a scalar field with metastable minima, bubbles nucleate quantum mechanically. When bubbles collide, energy stored in the bubble walls is converted into kinetic energy of the field. This kinetic energy can facilitate the classical nucleation of new bubbles in minima that lie below those of the "parent" bubbles. This process is efficient and classical, and changes the dynamics and statistics of bubble formation in models with multiple vacua, relative to that derived from quantum tunneling.