Renormalization-Scale Uncertainty in the Decay Rate of False Vacuum

TL;DR

This paper investigates how radiative corrections influence the decay rate of false vacua, emphasizing the importance of including fluctuations to reduce renormalization-scale dependence for precise calculations.

Contribution

It demonstrates quantitatively that including radiative fluctuations suppresses scale dependence in false vacuum decay rates, with applications to supersymmetric models.

Findings

Radiative corrections reduce the renormalization-scale dependence.

Including fluctuations is crucial for accurate decay rate calculations.

Application to supersymmetric models shows significance for Higgs-stau system.

Abstract

We study radiative corrections to the decay rate of false vacua, paying particular attention to the renormalization-scale dependence of the decay rate. The decay rate exponentially depends on the bounce action. The bounce action itself is renormalization scale dependent. To make the decay rate scale-independent, radiative corrections, which are due to the field fluctuations around the bounce, have to be included. We show quantitatively that the inclusion of the fluctuations suppresses the scale dependence, and hence is important for the precise calculation of the decay rate. We also apply our analysis to a supersymmetric model and show that the radiative corrections are important for the Higgs-stau system with charge breaking minima.