All Physics Faculty Publications
On the possibility of gravitationally induced semi-classical vacuum decay
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Physics Letters
Issue
220B
Publication Date
1989
First Page
42
Last Page
47
Abstract
The stability of the vacuum state for a scalar field in curved spacetime with ξRφ2 coupling is considered. It is shown that for negative ξ and zero cosmological constant, it is not possible for a massive free scalar field to tunnel out of the gf=0 vacuum via any O(4) bounce solutions, despite the presence of an apparently unbounded potential caused by gravity in the matter field equation. The comparison of this system with those in the literature is discussed.
Recommended Citation
T. C. Shen, "On the possibility of gravitationally induced semi-classical vacuum decay," Phys. Lett. 220B, 42-47 (1989).
https://doi.org/10.1016/0370-2693(89)90010-5