Abstract
We consider a field theory consisting of two interacting scalar fields: and . The scalar field is assumed to undergo a first-order phase transition via the nucleation of bubbles. We solve the Schrördinger equation for the combined system of a bubble plus the field with appropriate boundary conditions. This allows us to determine the quantum state of the field in the background of the nucleating and subsequently expanding bubble. The simplest description of this quantum state is obtained in the picture where is represented as an infinite set of massive scalar fields in a (2+1)-dimensional de Sitter space. We show that the bubble nucleates with all these fields in de Sitter-invariant quantum states and that the resulting quantum state of the field is Lorentz invariant.
- Received 29 January 1991
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.43.3846
©1991 American Physical Society