Negative mode problem in false vacuum decay with gravity

TL;DR

This paper compares different methods for identifying negative modes in false vacuum decay with gravity, highlighting the complexities introduced by gravitational effects on the decay process.

Contribution

It analyzes and contrasts two approaches to the negative mode problem in gravitational false vacuum decay, clarifying their differences and implications.

Findings

Different approaches yield conflicting results on negative modes.

Gravity complicates the negative mode analysis in vacuum decay.

The paper clarifies the conditions under which negative modes appear.

Abstract

There is a single negative mode in the spectrum of small perturbations about the tunneling solutions describing a metastable vacuum decay in flat spacetime. This mode is needed for consistent description of decay processes. When gravity is included the situation is more complicated. An approach based on elimination of scalar field perturbations shows no negative mode, whereas the recent approach based on elimination of gravitational perturbations indicates presence of a negative mode. In this contribution we analyse and compare the present approaches to the negative mode problem in false vacuum decay with gravity.