Explain 'bubbles' in cosmological phase transitions

[david findley]

Can someone, please, explain to me (in layman's terms, [ie no mathematics]) the theory behind early cosmological phase transitions and these supposed 'bubbles' ?

 

[Naty1]

Synopsis: Bubbles start as quantum fluctuations and end in decay analogous to radioactive decay...these are statistical rather than classical phenomena with exact predictions.

Usually the context in which I have seen 'bubbles' refer to multiple universes...each bubble forms a universe in eternal inflation models. [edit: see my post # 4 below where I rediscovered the distinction.]

Quantum fluctuations in the microscopic inflationary region, magnified to cosmic size, become the seeds for the growth of structure in the universe (see galaxy formation and evolution and structure formation).[4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_(cosmology )

Chaotic Inflation theory models quantum fluctuations in the rate of inflation. Those regions [bubbles]with a higher rate of inflation expand faster and dominate the universe, despite the natural tendency of inflation to end in other regions. This allows inflation to continue forever, to produce future-eternal inflation.

The bubble universe model proposes that different regions of this inflationary universe (termed a multiverse) decayed to a true vacuum state at different times, with decaying regions corresponding to "sub"- universes not in causal contact with each other and resulting in different physical laws in different regions which are then subject to "selection" which determine each region's components based upon (dependent on) the survivability of the quantum components within that region. The end result will be a finite number of universes with physical laws consistent within each region of spacetime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_universe_theory

 

[Naty1]

Here is an analogous description of inflation within one bubble, our universe.

From THE ETERNAL UNIVERSE, PAUL STEINHARDT AND NEIL TUROK

page 54-59: The decay of inflationary energy into radiation after inflation is governed by quantum mechanics...very similar to radioactive decay. The random character of the decay, sooner in some parts later in others, results in a patchy universe of the type observed today.

(I take this to mean galaxies in some places, empty space between them, for example.) The above references an inflationary model, not the cyclic model which is the main topic of the book.

 

[Naty1]

Here are some interesting 'bubble' footnote excerpts from Brian Greene's FABRIC OF THE COSMOS, page 521...

Alan Guth's old [original] inflation model suffered a 'pernicious flaw' [says Greene]:

...The relaxation of the inflation field to a zero energy value takes place by a process called bubble nucleation: the inflation drops to its zero energy value at one point in space, and this sparks an outward spreading bubble, one whose walls move at lightspeed...Guth realized that space surrounding the bubbles...would continue to undergo rapid inflationary expansion driving the bubbles apart...[there was] no guarantee that the growing bubbles would...coalesce into a large homogeneous expanse...insights of Linde, Albrecht and Steinhardt...now called new inflation...[found changing the shape of the energy bowl prolonged the inflationary burst so that one single bubble easily grew large enough to encompass the entire observable universe.

so it sounds like bubble collisions [mergers] were no longer required...each bubble would natrualy become an entire universe...

...Linde [later] found a way to generate an inflationary burst...without invoking a particularly special potential energy bowl, and without setting up the inflation field in a special configuration, the chaotic environment of the early universe could have naturally gievn rise to inflationay expansion...Not surprisingly, Linde called this approach chaotic inflation. Many physicsts consider it the most convincing realization of the inflationary paradigm...