Dynamics of Cosmological Phase Transitions

Abstract

The dynamics of typical phase transitions is studied out of equilibrium in weakly coupled inflaton-type scalar field theories in Minkowski space. The shortcomings of the effective potential and equilibrium descriptions are pointed out. A case of a rapid supercooling from $T_i>T_c$ to $T_f \ll T_c$ is considered. The equations of motion up to one-loop for the order parameter are obtained and integrated for the case of ``slow rollover initial conditions''. It is shown that the instabilities responsible for the process of phase separation introduce dramatic corrections to the evolution. Domain formation and growth (spinodal decomposition) is studied in a non-perturbative self-consistent approximation. For very weakly coupled theories domains grow for a long time, their final size is several times the zero temperature correlation length. For strongly coupled theories the final size of the domains is comparable to the zero temperature correlation length and the transition proceeds faster. We also obtain the evolution equations for the order parameter and the fluctuations to one-loop order and in a non-perturbative Hartree approximation in spatially flat FRW cosmologies. The renormalization, and leading behavior of the high temperature limit are analyzed.