In weak first-order phase transitions, subcritical bubbles reach percent-level volume fractions before critical nucleation when phases are nearly degenerate at Tn, invalidating the homogeneous-background assumption for points satisfying log10 f̂_ξ(Tn) ≃ -1.95.
Collapsing Sub-Critical Bubbles
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abstract
In the standard scenario, the electroweak phase transition is a first order phase transition which completes by the nucleation of critical bubbles. Recently, there has been speculation that the standard picture of the electroweak phase transition is incorrect. Instead, it has been proposed that throughout the phase transition appreciable amounts of both broken and unbroken phases of $SU(2)$ coexist in equilibrium. I argue that this can not be the case. General principles insure that the universe will remain in a homogenous state of unbroken $SU(2)$ until the onset of critical bubble production.
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Subcritical bubble prehistory in weak first-order phase transition
In weak first-order phase transitions, subcritical bubbles reach percent-level volume fractions before critical nucleation when phases are nearly degenerate at Tn, invalidating the homogeneous-background assumption for points satisfying log10 f̂_ξ(Tn) ≃ -1.95.