Analytic approach to string-induced phase transitions

Yajnik, U. A. ; Padmanabhan, T. (1987) Analytic approach to string-induced phase transitions Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology, 35 (10). pp. 3100-3104. ISSN 1550-7998

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://prd.aps.org/abstract/PRD/v35/i10/p3100_1

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.35.3100

Abstract

In an earlier work it was shown that gauge-theory strings present in the early Universe could have converted a potentially first-order phase transition into a second-order one. This demonstration was based on numerical integration of the relevant equations. In this paper we discuss the model employed there in a self-contained fashion and present analytical arguments to show that the previous results are of a more general validity, applicable to "seeding" in any supercooled medium. It is shown that in the presence of an appropriate seed, the supercooled state does not minimize the free energy (even locally) below a critical temperature. This contrasts with the phase transition in the absence of seeds, which is accompanied by extensive supercooling and which can be completed only by quantum tunneling.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to The American Physical Society.
ID Code:72437
Deposited On:29 Nov 2011 05:17
Last Modified:29 Nov 2011 05:17

Repository Staff Only: item control page