Phase Transitions in Dimensional Reduction up to Three Loops

Abstract

We perform the first computation of phase-transition parameters to cubic order in $\lambda\sim m^2/T^2$, where $m$ is the scalar mass and $T$ is the temperature, in a simple model resembling the Higgs sector of the SMEFT. We use dimensional reduction, including 1-loop matching corrections for terms of dimension 6 (in 4-dimensional units), 2-loop contributions for dimension-4 ones and 3-loops for the squared mass. We precisely quantify the size of the different corrections, including renormalisation-group running as well as quantum effects from light fields in the effective theory provided by the Coleman-Weinberg potential, and discuss briefly the implications for gravitational waves. Our results suggest that, for strong phase transitions, 1-loop corrections from dimension-6 operators can compete with 2-loop ones from quartic couplings, but largely surpass those from 3-loop thermal masses.