Path integral predictions for pre-asymptotic false vacuum decay

TL;DR

This paper develops a first-principles path integral approach to analyze pre-asymptotic false vacuum decay, providing a systematic semi-classical framework to evaluate tunneling rates beyond leading asymptotic behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a novel semi-classical method within the steadyon picture to evaluate tunneling rates in the pre-asymptotic regime from first principles.

Findings

Systematic evaluation of pre-asymptotic tunneling behavior.

Clarification of physical scales and assumptions involved.

Framework for non-perturbative tunneling rate calculations.

Abstract

When tunneling occurs out of generic initial states, a significant fraction of probability is lost at early times during which the dynamics is governed by excited resonance states. However, first-principles analyses based on path integrals have only captured the leading asymptotic behavior during which the tunneling rate is dominated by the false vacuum contribution. In this work, we discuss the behavior in the pre-asymptotic regime from a first-principles path integral perspective. We demonstrate how the relevant expressions can be evaluated systematically through semi-classical methods in the recently developed steadyon picture. This approach allows one to trace the role of the relevant physical scales, making transparent the underlying assumptions and approximations and offering a clear path to establishing a systematically improvable framework to evaluate tunneling rates non-perturbatively.