Inverse Symmetry Breaking with 4d Lattice Simulations

The study of nonlinear phenomena in systems with many degrees of freedom often relies on complex numerical simulations. In trying to model realistic situations, these systems may be coupled to an external environment which drives their dynamics. For nonlinear field theories coupled to thermal (or quantum) baths, discrete lattice formulations must be dealt with extreme care if the results of the simulations are to be interpreted in the continuum limit. Using techniques from re...

We reconsider the old problem of the dynamics of spontaneous symmetry breaking using 3d lattice simulations, and develop a theory of tachyonic preheating, which occurs due to the spinodal instability of the scalar field. Tachyonic preheating is so efficient that symmetry breaking typically completes within a single oscillation of the field distribution as it rolls towards the minimum of its effective potential. As an application of this theory we consider preheating in the hy...

We study the effect of next-to-leading order contributions on the phenomenon of symmetry non-restoration at high temperature in an $O(N_1)\times O(N_2)$ model.

If SU(N) gauge fields live in a world with a circular extra dimension, coupling there only to adjointly charged matter, the system possesses a global Z(N) symmetry. If the radius is small enough such that dimensional reduction takes place, this symmetry is spontaneously broken. It turns out that its fate at high temperatures is not easily decided with straightforward perturbation theory. Utilising non-perturbative lattice simulations, we demonstrate here that the symmetry doe...

A lattice simulation in the broken phase of four-dimensional (lambda Phi^4) theory in the Ising limit suggests that, in the continuum limit, the scalar condensate rescales by a factor different from the conventional wavefunction renormalization. Possible effects on the present bounds of the Higgs mass are discussed.

In this work we consider the 1-component real scalar $\phi^4$ theory in 4 space-time dimensions on the lattice and investigate the finite size scaling of thermodynamic quantities to study whether the thermodynamic limit is attained. The results are obtained for the symmetric phase of the theory.

We discuss the recent scenario of tachyonic preheating at the end of inflation as a consequence of a tachyonic mass term in the scalar field responsible for spontaneous symmetry breaking. We use 3D lattice simulations to expore this very non-perturbative and non-linear phenomenon, which occurs due to the spinodal instability of the scalar field. Tachyonic preheating is so efficient that symmetry breaking typically completes within a single oscillation of the field distributio...

We study the thermal phase transitions of a generic real scalar field, without a $Z_2$-symmetry, referred to variously as an inert, sterile or singlet scalar, or $\phi^3+\phi^4$ theory. Such a scalar field arises in a wide range of models, including as the inflaton, or as a portal to the dark sector. At high temperatures, we perform dimensional reduction, matching to an effective theory in three dimensions, which we then study both perturbatively to three-loop order and on th...

A model of two coupled complex scalar fields is studied at finite temperature and under an external magnetic field. The results are obtained in the context of the nonperturbative method of the optimized perturbation theory and contrasted with those obtained in perturbation theory and in the one-loop approximation. The emergence of phenomena related to inverse symmetry breaking and symmetry nonrestoration are analyzed.

Results of investigations of the O(4) spin model at finite temperature using anisotropic lattices are presented. In both the large $N$ approximation and the numerical simulations using the Wolff cluster algorithm we find that the ratio of the symmetry restoration temperature $T_{\rm SR}$ to the Higgs mass $m_{\rm H}$ is independent of the anisotropy. We obtain a lower bound of $0.59 \pm 0.04$ for the ratio, $T_{\rm SR}/m_{\rm H}$, at $m_{\rm H}a \simeq 0.5$, which is lowered ...