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arXiv · 1405.4219

"Big Bang" as a first-order phase transition in the early Universe

E. A. Pashitskii
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Abstract

It is argued that the "Big Bang" initiating the creation of our Universe may be a consequence of a first-order phase transition induced by interaction of a fundamental non-linear scalar field with gravitational field. The Lagrangian describing the scalar field f characterized by "imaginary mass" and nonlinearity of $ϕ^4$ type, existing in the space-time with non-zero scalar curvature $R$, is proposed to be augmented with an additional linear term $\propto Rϕ$, along with the standard term $\propto R|ϕ|^2$ quadratic in $ϕ$. The term linear in $ϕ$, playing the role of an "external field", leads to a cubic equation in $ϕ$ for the extrema of the potential energy of the scalar field and ensures the possibility of a first-order phase transition driven by the parameter proportional to $R$. It is assumed that the early Universe is filled with non-linear scalar field in the ground state and cold matter, neutral with respect to all charges, satisfying the equation of state $p=νε$. It is shown that given the condition $ν>1/3$ the scalar curvature $R=κ(3ν-1)ε-4Λ$ (where $Λ$ is the cosmological constant) decreases with diminishing of the energy density of matter during the Universe's expansion and reaches certain critical value $R_c<0$ when the first-order phase transition occurs. Using parameters characterizing the Higgs field, the rapid "roll-down" of the system into the potential minimum is shown to take place in a time span of about $10^{-31}$ s. During this time the latent heat of the transition is released increasing the temperature of the Universe to the Planck value $T_P=10^{32}$ K, which may be seen as the "Big Bang" producing $4 \cdot 10^{30}$ GW of power.

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E. A. Pashitskii. 2014-05-23. "Big Bang" as a first-order phase transition in the early Universe. https://arxiv.org/abs/1405.4219

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