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Analytic bounces in d dimensions

High Energy Physics - Theory · Submitted 29 Sep 2020 · 22 references

Pith's verdict: Solid extension of exact bounces to general d, with standard derivations and thin-wall checks; the smooth-quadratic branch selection is the one real gap.

T0 · AI review

How this review was made: An AI referee (deepseek-v4-flash) read the paper on August 27, 2026 and answered a fixed list of questions about it. T0 is the starting level every paper gets. The levels describe how deeply Pith has checked the paper, never the authors.

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  4. T3 Formal statement The claims written out in a formal math language a computer can read.
  5. T4 Proof Those claims proved, and the proof checked by computer.

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arXiv ID2009.14102 (version 1)
Pith IDHMUPNHT7, Pith's permanent record of this paper and its review
CitationAntonio Amariti. "Analytic bounces in d dimensions." arXiv:2009.14102 (2020). https://pith.science/paper/HMUPNHT7
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Referee report
The paper

The paper claims

This paper derives analytic false-vacuum decay exponents for scalar potentials in arbitrary spacetime dimension d, extending known four-dimensional results.

The reading

This paper derives closed-form expressions for the Euclidean bounce action describing false-vacuum decay in a scalar field theory, for triangular, square, and two quadratic potentials in arbitrary spacetime dimension $d$. Previously, exact analytic results of this type were available only in four dimensions. The new formulas give the decay exponent directly and reduce to the standard thin-wall approximation when the two vacua are nearly degenerate. The paper also shows that, when the field does not reach the true vacuum in finite Euclidean time, analytic continuation to Lorentzian time produces damped oscillations around the true vacuum.

What carries the argument

The load-bearing object is the Euclidean bounce $\varphi(r)$: an $O(d)$-symmetric solution of $\varphi'' + \frac{d-1}{r}\varphi' = V'(\varphi)$, with $\varphi(r)\to \varphi_+$ as $r\to\infty$ and $\varphi'(0)=0$. For each potential the equation is integrable in elementary or special functions — power laws for the linear and square-potential branches, and modified Bessel functions $I_{d/2-1}(mr)$, $K_{d/2-1}(mr)$ for the quadratic branches. The bounce action is then the action functional evaluated on this solution minus the false-vacuum background; the only non-explicit ingredient is a matching radius ($R_T$ or $R_1$) fixed by requiring the field and its derivative to be continuous at the junction between branches. For the smooth quadratic potential an infinite family of such radii solves the junction condition, and the paper selects the smallest one, $R_1^{(1)}$.

Extended reading notes

Core claim

The central discovery is that for the triangular potential, the square potential, the 'volcanic' piecewise-quadratic potential, and the smooth quadratic potential with a quadratic cap, the spherically symmetric Euclidean equation of motion can be solved in closed form in any dimension $d$. The bounce actions are Eqs. (3.5), (4.7), (5.11), and (5.26). In the degenerate-vacuum limit each formula reduces to the thin-wall result (2.6). Where the true vacuum is not reached at finite Euclidean radius, the Lorentzian continuation of the solution is a damped oscillation about the true vacuum with amplitude suppressed as $\tau^{-d/2}$.

Load-bearing premise

The physical bounce in the smooth quadratic case is assumed to be the smallest-radius solution $R_1^{(1)}$ of equation (5.25), supported by numerical evidence in $d=3,\ldots,6$; if a different branch $R_1^{(j)}$ has smaller action in some dimension, formula (5.26) would not give the decay exponent.

Editorial extensions

If this is right

  • False-vacuum decay exponents for triangular, square, and quadratic potentials are now known in closed form for any spacetime dimension $d$.
  • All derived formulas reduce to the thin-wall approximation in the degenerate-vacuum limit, providing a consistency check across $d$.
  • For bounces that do not reach the true vacuum at finite Euclidean time, the Lorentzian-continued field oscillates with damping $\tau^{-d/2}$ around the true vacuum.
  • The infinite family of candidate solutions for the smooth quadratic potential is resolved by selecting the branch with the smallest radius, $R_1^{(1)}$.

Reading between the lines

Editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The same Bessel-function reduction should be applicable to other potentials with quadratic asymptotics, for instance adding a small cubic term, giving controlled corrections to these exact actions.
  • The closed-form actions in $d>4$ provide a quantitative way to test numerical bounce codes in regimes where no exact benchmarks previously existed.
  • The branch-selection pattern for the smooth quadratic potential suggests that, when multiple Euler-Lagrange solutions exist, the minimal-action bounce may generally be the one with the smallest turning-point radius; testing this in other multi-branch potentials would clarify its scope.
  • A direct comparison of the exact formulas with the thin-wall prediction at small but finite energy gap would quantify how quickly the thin-wall approximation sets in as $d$ grows, an extension not pursued in the paper.
Original abstract

We study the Euclidean bounce action interpolating between a false and a true vacuum for a scalar field theory with various types of potential. We focus on the cases of a triangular, a square and a quadratic barrier, where the bounce action has already been computed analytically in four dimensions. We generalize the result to d dimensions, providing an analytic formula in each case. Furthermore we show that our results reduce to the ones computed from the thin wall approximation, when the true and the false vacuum are close in energy. When the true vacuum cannot be reached in a finite amount of Euclidean time we study the damped oscillations of the solution by analytical continuation to Lorentzian spacetime.

The compiled record

The paper's own sentences, arranged, kept beside the review and separate from it. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.

Compiled by classifier-1.13.0 via TypeSafe API, question bank abstract-p1-20260923, 2026-09-23: 1 request, 4,231 input tokens.

What the abstract itself states, as probabilities: claims first 0.04 · states limitation 0.45 · human participants 0.01 · controlled comparison 0.11 · randomized assignment 0.01 · states quantitative result 0.09 · compares with prior results 0.96 · mentions code or data availability 0.02.

The abstract, sentence by sentence

arXiv listing abstract v1. Results and the main claim are underlined; .

We study the Euclidean bounce action interpolating between a false and a true vacuum for a scalar field theory with various types of potential. We focus on the cases of a triangular, a square and a quadratic barrier, where the bounce action has already been computed analytically in four dimensions. We generalize the result to d dimensions, providing an analytic formula in each case. Furthermore we show that our results reduce to the ones computed from the thin wall approximation, when the true and the false vacuum are close in energy. When the true vacuum cannot be reached in a finite amount of Euclidean time we study the damped oscillations of the solution by analytical continuation to Lorentzian spacetime.

background contribution method result interpretation main claim

What the classifier reports for each sentence. The number is the probability it gave the label.
#sentencerolethe authors' own workstates the main conclusionstrength
s0 We study the Euclidean bounce action interpolating between a false and a true vacuum for a scalar field theory with various types of potential. contribution 0.89 0.91 0.06 asserted 0.91
s1 We focus on the cases of a triangular, a square and a quadratic barrier, where the bounce action has already been computed analytically in four dimensions. background 0.82 0.18 0.05 asserted 0.98
s2 We generalize the result to d dimensions, providing an analytic formula in each case. contribution 0.70 0.96 0.68 asserted 1.00
s3 Furthermore we show that our results reduce to the ones computed from the thin wall approximation, when the true and the false vacuum are close in energy. result 0.85 0.91 0.15 asserted 1.00
s4 When the true vacuum cannot be reached in a finite amount of Euclidean time we study the damped oscillations of the solution by analytical continuation to Lorentzian spacetime. contribution 0.83 0.92 0.09 asserted 0.99

What kind of paper the classifier reports this is: theoretical result 1.00 · evidence from proof or derivation 1.00.

What was examined, and what was not

sources read
  • arXiv listing abstract v1
not examined
  • full text
  • figures and tables
  • references and citing sentences
  • relations to other papers
levels run
  • P abstract
not run
  • S sections
  • T body sentences
  • C citations
  • R cross-paper relations

Every quoted sentence on this record is the authors'. Every label is from Pith's closed vocabulary, with the probability shown beside it. Every number in the measurements table is the authors', checked by code. Record as JSON

References
How the literature uses it

5 arXiv papers cite this in 6 sentences

Each citing sentence is taken from the citing paper's LaTeX source and typed by Pith's classifier. A label appears at probability 0.8 or more (0.95 for support), a contest at 0.7 or more; the quoted words are the citing authors'. How each label was checked · JSON

Papers citing it · 3 sentences without a confident label

Uses its method or tool 1 paper
  • The Euclidean action is estimated using the triangular approximation [ref] S_4^trg = 32π^2/31+c/(√(1+c)-1)^4 (Δϕ_+^4/ΔV_+) , where ΔV_+ ∼M^4 , Δϕ_+ ∼f , ΔV_- ∼g^4ϕ_c^4/λ , Δϕ_- ∼ϕ_c , c ≡ΔV_-/ΔV_+ Δϕ_+/ Δϕ_- ≈g^4/λ (ϕ_c/M)^4 f/ϕ_c = g Λ^3 f/λM^4 .

    Attracting the Electroweak Scale to a Tachyonic Trap · Quantum tunneling · 1.00

Cites it as background 1 paper

What it cites · 18 sentences without a confident label

Builds on 1 paper
Cites as support 1 paper
Cites as background 4 papers

Discussion

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