The discussion centers on the possibility of the Higgs field tunneling from a true vacuum to a false vacuum. Participants clarify that the true vacuum represents the lowest energy state, making it impossible for the Higgs field to transition to a false vacuum due to insufficient energy. The analogy of carbon-14 decay is used to illustrate the complexity of this quantum phenomenon. Ultimately, the consensus is that such tunneling is not feasible under current theoretical frameworks.
PREREQUISITESPhysicists, quantum mechanics students, and researchers interested in particle physics and vacuum state phenomena will benefit from this discussion.
You choose "A" tag for your thread, and you ask this question? It is like asking how long time it takes for one carbon.14 nuclei to decay, I hope you realize this...emanaly said:How much time would that process require?
Actually yes, I was reading from false to true (because that is what is actually being studied, plus I thought it was the same as this recent thread https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/what-is-a-false-vacuum.1052894 )Vanadium 50 said:I was puzzled by this - note the use of "true" and "false". Isn't it more like a N-14 atom decaying to C-14?
No, it doesn't have the energy to do that. By definition, the true vacuum is the lowest energy state.emanaly said:Could the Higgs field in a true vacuum tunnel to a false one?