arXiv · 2507.07755
Entropy production at electroweak bubble walls from scalar field fluctuations
Abstract
The real-time dynamics of an electroweak phase transition involves large time and distance scales, the domain of hydrodynamics. However, the matching conditions of ideal hydrodynamics across a bubble wall do not fix the fluid profile completely, with the remaining degree of freedom parametrizable through entropy production. Within a framework of Langevin dynamics, viewed as an effective description valid between the hydrodynamic ($k \sim g^4_{ } T/\pi^3_{ }$) and soft momentum scales ($k \sim gT$), we determine the entropy production originating from scalar field fluctuations. The entropy discontinuity is shown to remain non-vanishing when the friction coefficient is sent to zero, in apparent violation of the ``local thermal equilibrium'' (LTE) framework. To confirm the finding, we identify its origin within Boltzmann equations, as being part of the $1\to 1$ force associated with the ``ballistic'' regime. The result implies that LTE-based upper bounds on the wall velocity cannot be saturated.
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M. Eriksson, M. Laine. 2025-07-10. Entropy production at electroweak bubble walls from scalar field fluctuations. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516%2F2025%2F09%2F027
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