Fluctuation-Induced Friction in Bubble-Wall Dynamics of Cosmological First-Order Phase Transitions

Abstract

We study bubble-wall dynamics in cosmological first-order phase transitions in a two-scalar-field model, where the wall is formed by $\phi$ and an additional real scalar $s$ couples through a portal interaction. We evolve the coupled classical field equations on the lattice and demonstrate that for an initial Bose--Einstein distribution of $s$ fluctuations at the nucleation temperature $T_n$, the resulting patchy background intermittently modulates the local driving pressure on the wall. The wall therefore undergoes alternating episodes of acceleration and deceleration and approaches a quasi-stationary propagation regime with a smaller time-averaged speed than in the decoupled limit. We further identify three familiar propagation profiles -- deflagration, detonation, and hybrid -- distinguished by where the dynamical $s$-sector energy density is concentrated relative to the wall. These effects can impact gravitational wave and baryogenesis predictions.