Moduli-Induced Vacuum Destabilisation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how dense matter environments and gravitational collapse can destabilize moduli fields, potentially causing decompactification or shifts in extra-dimensional volumes, with implications for astrophysics and cosmology.

Contribution

It introduces mechanisms by which dense matter and gravitational collapse influence moduli stability, highlighting conditions for destabilization in astrophysical and cosmological contexts.

Findings

Neutron stars cannot destabilize realistic Planck-scale moduli.

Gravitational collapse leads to destabilization of compact extra dimensions.

Destabilization causes super-inflationary expansion of extra dimensions.

Abstract

We look for ways to destabilise the vacuum. We describe how dense matter environments source a contribution to moduli potentials and analyse the conditions required to initiate either decompactification or a local shift in moduli vevs. We consider astrophysical objects such as neutron stars as well as cosmological and black hole singularities. Regrettably neutron stars cannot destabilise realistic Planck coupled moduli, which would require objects many orders of magnitude denser. However gravitational collapse, either in matter-dominated universes or in black hole formation, inevitably leads to a destabilisation of the compact volume causing a super-inflationary expansion of the extra dimensions.