arXiv subjects

Bogumila Swiezewska

Publications and source records attributed to Bogumila Swiezewska.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tachyonic particle production in strongly supercooled phase transitions

In strongly supercooled cosmological phase transitions, which generically lead to strong, observable gravitational-wave backgrounds, the scalar field typically transitions to a value well below the minimum of its potential. We study particle production caused by the subsequent evolution of the field. Because some modes feature temporarily tachyonic masses, they can be efficiently produced, and a significant fraction of the energy density released in the phase transition can get converted to particles rather than gradient energy. This has consequences for the shape and amplitude of the gravitational-wave spectrum caused by the interactions in bubbles and sources a new, high-frequency signal. Moreover, it affects the bubble expansion velocity and equation of state, which can facilitate the formation of primordial black holes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Theoretical uncertainties in reconstructing model parameters with gravitational waves from supercooled phase transitions

Future interferometers may detect a gravitational-wave (GW) signal from a cosmological first-order phase transition. Reconstructing the underlying particle-physics model from such a signal requires theoretical control over the map from microphysics to the spectrum. For classically scale-invariant extensions of the Standard Model, which generically predict strongly supercooled transitions and strong GW signals, this map depends sensitively on the treatment of quantum and thermal corrections to the nucleation rate. Taking the classically conformal ${\rm U}(1)_X$ model as representative of this class, we scan its parameter space and compare two resummation schemes. The first is a high-temperature effective field theory, matched at two-loop level and including next-to-leading-order corrections to the bounce action, with the nucleation-rate prefactor given by the full one-loop functional determinants. The second is a commonly employed daisy-resummed effective potential, with the prefactor estimated on dimensional grounds. Reconstructing the fundamental model parameters through a Fisher-matrix analysis of injected GW signals at LISA, we find that the daisy-resummation scheme is strongly disfavored, as its theoretical error dominates over the reconstruction uncertainty.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Reconstructing early universe evolution with gravitational waves from supercooled phase transitions

We study gravitational waves from supercooled cosmological first-order phase transitions. If such a transition is followed by inefficient reheating, the evolution history of the universe is modified by a period of early matter domination. This leaves an imprint on the predicted gravitational-wave spectra. Using Fisher analysis we show the parameter space in reach of upcoming gravitational wave observatories where reheating can be probed due to its impact on the stochastic background produced by the transition. We use both the simplified geometric parametrisation and the thermodynamical one explicitly including the decay rate of the field undergoing the transition as a parameter determining the spectrum. We show the expansion history following the transition can be probed provided the transition is very strong which is naturally realised in classically scale invariant models generically predicting supercooling. Moreover, in such a scenario the decay rate of the scalar undergoing the phase transition, a parameter most likely inaccessible to accelerators, can be determined through the spectrum analysis.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Finite-temperature bubble nucleation with shifting scale hierarchies

Focusing on supercooled phase transitions in models with classical scale symmetry, we formulate a state-of-the art framework for computing the bubble-nucleation rate, accounting for the presence of various energy scales. In particular, we examine the limitations of derivative expansions in constructing a thermal effective field theory for bubble nucleation. We show that for gauge field fluctuations, derivative expansions diverge after the leading two orders due to the strong variation in gauge field masses between the high- and low-temperature phases. By directly computing these contributions using the fluctuation determinant, we capture these effects while also accounting for large explicit logarithms at two loops, utilising the exact renormalisation group structure of the EFT. Finally, we demonstrate how this approach significantly improves nucleation rate calculations compared to leading-order results, providing a more robust framework for predicting gravitational-wave signals from supercooled phase transitions in models such as the SU(2)cSM.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Radiative symmetry breaking from the on-shell perspective

Models with classical scale symmetry, which feature radiative symmetry breaking, generically lead to a supercooled first-order phase transition in the early Universe resulting in a strong gravitational-wave signal, potentially observable by LISA. This is thanks to the absence of mass terms in the potential and the resulting logarithmic structure of the zero-temperature effective potential. It is known that imposing a symmetry at classical level does not prohibit breaking it by quantum corrections. In the case of scale symmetry, a mass term can in principle appear through renormalisation. This is not the case in the commonly used $\overline{\mathrm{MS}}$ or Coleman-Weinberg schemes. In this work, we renormalise a scale-invariant model in the on-shell scheme to check whether parameterising it with the physical masses will introduce mass terms to the potential. We find that indeed mass terms appear for an arbitrary choice of the physical masses. However, we formulate an on-shell condition for radiative symmetry breaking, sufficient and necessary for the cancellation of mass terms in the renormalised potential, yielding a logarithmic potential needed for supercooled phase transitions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Gravitational waves from supercooled phase transitions: dimensional transmutation meets dimensional reduction

Models with radiative symmetry breaking typically feature strongly supercooled first-order phase transitions, which result in an observable stochastic gravitational wave background. In this work, we analyse the role of higher order thermal corrections for these transitions, applying high-temperature dimensional reduction to a theory with dimensional transmutation. In particular, we study to what extent high-temperature effective field theories (3D EFT) can be used. We find that despite significant supercooling down from the critical temperature, the high-temperature expansion for the bubble nucleation rate can be applied using the 3D EFT framework, and we point out challenges in the EFT description. We compare our findings to previous studies, and find that the next-to-leading order corrections obtained in this work have a significant effect on the predictions for GW observables, motivating a further exploration of higher order thermal effects.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Conformal model for gravitational waves and dark matter: A status update

We present an updated analysis of the first-order phase transition associated with symmetry breaking in the early Universe in a classically scale-invariant model extended with a new SU(2) gauge group. Including recent developments in understanding supercooled phase transitions, we compute all of its characteristics and significantly constrain the parameter space. We then predict gravitational wave spectra generated during this phase transition and by computing the signal-to-noise ratio we conclude that this model is well testable (and falsifiable) with LISA. We also provide predictions for the relic dark matter abundance. It is consistent with observations in a rather narrow part of the parameter space, since we exclude the so-called supercool dark matter scenario based on an improved description of percolation and reheating after the phase transition as well as inclusion of the running of couplings. Finally, we devote attention to renormalisation-scale dependence of the results. Even though our main results are obtained with the use of renormalisation-group improved effective potential, we also perform a fixed-scale analysis which proves that the dependence on the scale is not only qualitative but also quantitative.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Field-theoretic derivation of bubble-wall force

We derive a general quantum field theoretic formula for the force acting on expanding bubbles of a first order phase transition in the early Universe setting. In the thermodynamic limit the force is proportional to the entropy increase across the bubble of active species that exert a force on the bubble interface. When local thermal equilibrium is attained, we find a strong friction force which grows as the Lorentz factor squared, such that the bubbles quickly reach stationary state and cannot run away. We also study an opposite case when scatterings are negligible across the wall (ballistic limit), finding that the force saturates for moderate Lorentz factors thus allowing for a runaway behavior. We apply our formalism to a massive real scalar field, the standard model and its simple portal extension. For completeness, we also present a derivation of the renormalized, one-loop, thermal energy-momentum tensor for the standard model and demonstrate its gauge independence.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Gravitational waves from conformal symmetry breaking

We consider the electroweak phase transition in the conformal extension of the standard model known as SU(2)cSM. Apart from the standard model particles, this model contains an additional scalar and gauge field that are both charged under the hidden SU(2)$_X$. This model generically exhibits a very strong phase transition that proceeds after a large amount of supercooling. We estimate the gravitational wave spectrum produced in this model and show that its amplitude and frequency fall within the observational window of LISA. We also discuss potential pitfalls and relevant points of improvement required to attain reliable estimates of the gravitational wave production in this - as well as in more general - class of models. In order to improve perturbativity during the early stages of transition that ends with bubble nucleation, we solve a thermal gap equation in the scalar sector inspired by the 2PI effective action formalism.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Conformal symmetry and the cosmological constant problem

We argue that, when a theory of gravity and matter is endowed with (classical) conformal symmetry, the fine tuning required to obtain the cosmological constant at its observed value can be significantly reduced. Once tuned, the cosmological constant is stable under a change of the scale at which it is measured.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Systematic analysis of radiative symmetry breaking in models with extended scalar sector

Radiative symmetry breaking (RSB) is a theoretically appealing framework for the generation of mass scales through quantum effects. It can be successfully implemented in models with extended scalar and gauge sectors. We provide a systematic analysis of RSB in such models: we review the common approximative methods of studying RSB, emphasising their limits of applicability and discuss the relevance of the relative magnitudes of tree-level and loop contributions as well as the dependence of the results on the renormalisation scale. The general considerations are exemplified within the context of the conformal Standard Model extended with a scalar doublet of a new SU(2)$_X$ gauge group, the so-called SU(2)cSM. We show that various perturbative methods of studying RSB may yield significantly different results due to renormalisation-scale dependence. Implementing the renormalisation-group (RG) improvement method recently developed in arXiv:1801.05258, which is well-suited for multi-scale models, we argue that the use of the RG improved effective potential can alleviate this scale dependence providing more reliable results.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Single-scale Renormalisation Group Improvement of Multi-scale Effective Potentials

We present a new method for renormalisation group improvement of the effective potential of a quantum field theory with an arbitrary number of scalar fields. The method amounts to solving the renormalisation group equation for the effective potential with the boundary conditions chosen on the hypersurface where quantum corrections vanish. This hypersurface is defined through a suitable choice of a field-dependent value for the renormalisation scale. The method can be applied to any order in perturbation theory and it is a generalisation of the standard procedure valid for the one-field case. In our method, however, the choice of the renormalisation scale does not eliminate individual logarithmic terms but rather the entire loop corrections to the effective potential. It allows us to evaluate the improved effective potential for arbitrary values of the scalar fields using the tree-level potential with running coupling constants as long as they remain perturbative. This opens the possibility of studying various applications which require an analysis of multi-field effective potentials across different energy scales. In particular, the issue of stability of the scalar potential can be easily studied beyond tree level.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

One-loop contributions to neutral minima in the inert doublet model

The vacuum structure of the inert doublet model is analysed at the one-loop level using the effective potential formalism, to verify the validity of tree-level predictions for the properties of the global minimum. An inert minimum (with massive fermions) and an inert-like minimum (with massless fermions) can coexist at tree level. But the one-loop analysis reveals that the allowed parameter space for the coexistence of more than one minimum is larger than the tree-level expected one. It is also shown that for some choices of parameters, the global minimum found at the one-loop level may be inert (or inert-like), contrary to what the tree-level analysis indicates.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Inert scalars and vacuum metastability around the electroweak scale

We analyse effective potential around the electroweak (EW) scale in the Standard Model extended with a heavy scalar doublet. We show that the additional scalars can have a strong impact on vacuum stability. Although the additional heavy scalars may improve the behaviour of running Higgs self-coupling at large field values, we prove that they can destabilise the vacuum due to EW-scale effects. A new EW symmetry conserving minimum of the effective potential can appear rendering the electroweak symmetry breaking minimum meta- or unstable. However, for the case of the inert doublet model (IDM) with a 125 GeV Higgs boson we demonstrate that the parameter space region where the vacuum is meta- or unstable cannot be reconciled with the constraints from perturbative unitarity, electroweak precision tests and dark matter relic abundance measurements.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Universe in the light of LHC

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) provides data which give information on dark matter. In particular, measurements related to the Higgs sector lead to strong constraints on the invisible sector which are competitive with astrophysical limits. Some recent LHC results on dark matter coming from the Higgs sector in the Inert Doublet Model (IDM) are presented.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Higgs -> $γγ$, $Zγ$ in the Inert Doublet Model

An analysis of the Higgs boson decay rates to $γγ$ and $Zγ$ in the Inert Doublet Model is presented. We study the correlation between the two rates and perform extended analysis of the two-photon rate ($R_{γγ}$). We study both the possibility of enhancing and suppressing $R_{γγ}$ and find constraints for masses of the scalar particles (in particular the dark matter (DM) candidate and the charged scalar) and their couplings to the Higgs boson. We also combine the resulting constraints with those following from the WMAP measurements of the DM relic density, obtaining stringent constraints on different dark matter scenarios.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Diphoton rate in the Inert Doublet Model with a 125 GeV Higgs boson

An improved analysis of the diphoton decay rate of the Higgs boson in the Inert Doublet Model is presented together with critical discussion of the results existing in the literature. For Higgs boson mass M_h equal 125 GeV, and taking into account the following constraints: vacuum stability, existence of the Inert vacuum, perturbative unitarity, electroweak precision tests and the LEP bounds, we found regions in the parameter space where the diphoton rate is enhanced. The resulting regions were confronted with the allowed values of the Dark Matter mass. We found that significant enhancement in the two photon decay of the Higgs boson is only possible for constrained values of scalar couplings λ_3 hH+H-, λ_{345} hHH and masses of the charged scalar and the Dark Matter particle. The enhancement above 1.3 demands the masses of H+ and H to be less than 135 GeV (and above 62.5 GeV) and -1.46<λ_3,λ_{345} <-0.24. In addition we analyzed the correlation of the diphoton and Z+photon rates.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Yukawa independent constraints for Two Higgs Doublet Models with a 125 GeV Higgs boson

In this paper various constraints for the parameter spaces of two variants of the Two Higgs Doublet Model with a Z_2-symmetric potential are reconsidered, including the LHC data on existence of a 125 GeV Higgs-like boson. We analyze the model in which only one of the doublets develops a nonzero vacuum expectation value (VEV) -- the Inert Doublet Model (IDM) and the Mixed Model where both of the doublets have nonzero VEVs. Positivity constraints, conditions determining the type of the vacuum, perturbative unitarity condition, constraints following from electroweak precision tests together with the LEP bounds on masses of the scalars are included in the analysis. The analysis is performed without specific assumptions regarding the Yukawa sector. For the IDM constraints on quartic couplings and masses of the scalars as well as their implications for Dark Matter scenarios are presented. A new type of bound on the mass parameter of the potential coming from the condition for the existence of the Inert vacuum is given. In the Mixed Model a strong bound on the value of tanβ, 0.18<tanβ<5.59, is found. It depends on the mass of the Higgs boson and is independent of the Yukawa interactions. Also Standard Model (SM)-like scenarios with either h or H playing the role of the SM-like Higgs boson are analyzed.

hep-ph↗