Cited by 140Particle physics theoretical and experimental studiesBlack Holes and Theoretical PhysicsNoncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 21 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Gravity and the Stability of the Higgs Vacuum

Open access
Burda, Philipp, Gregory, Ruth, Moss, Ian G.·2015·Physical Review Letters

Abstract

We discuss the effect of gravitational interactions on the lifetime of the Higgs vacuum where generic quantum gravity corrections are taken into account. Using a "thin-wall" approximation, we provide a proof of principle that small black holes can act as seeds for vacuum decay, spontaneously nucleating a new Higgs phase centered on the black hole with a lifetime measured in millions of Planck times rather than billions of years. The corresponding parameter space constraints are, however, extremely stringent; therefore, we also present numerical evidence suggesting that with thick walls, the parameter space may open up. Implications for collider black holes are discussed.

Overview

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TL;DR

Gravitational impurities in the form of small black holes can seed Higgs vacuum decay, with thin-wall calculations showing bounce actions suppressed from about \(10^6\) to \(10^{0-2}\) and thick-wall numerics indicating primordial black holes may trigger catastrophic vacuum decay. The effect is highly parameter-dependent, and collider black holes are less risky because extra dimensions suppress the branching ratio.

Key findings

  • In the thin-wall Coleman–de Luccia extension with a black hole, small black holes can act as seeds for vacuum decay, nucleating a new Higgs phase centered on the black hole with a lifetime measured in millions of Planck times rather than billions of years. As the seed black hole mass increases, the instanton action drops rapidly; at a critical mass \(M_C\), a static bubble wall exists, and unless \(\sigma \ell\) is Planck scale, the suppression is several orders of magnitude, changing the exponential factor from an irrelevant \(10^6\) to a potentially relevant \(10^{0-2}\).
  • The branching ratio of tunneling to Hawking evaporation is \(\Gamma_D/\Gamma_H \approx 44(M_+^2/M_p^2)B^{1/2}e^{-B}\). For thin-wall instantons, there is a range of \(M_+\) (small, though still above the Planck mass) with strong enhancement, and tunneling dominates.
  • The thin-wall condition is very constraining: the allowed range of \(\lambda_6\) is small and occurs for large values \(\lambda_6 \sim 10^3\)–\(10^5\), depending on \(\lambda_*\).
  • Thick-wall numerical solutions with \(\lambda_*=-0.01\) and \(b=10^{-4}\) show that primordial black holes evaporating into the relevant mass range make vacuum decay more probable; for a \(10^5 M_p\) mass black hole the evaporation timescale is \(\sim 10^{-28}\) s, so any primordial black holes will eventually trigger a catastrophic phase transition, ruling out potentials with parameters in those ranges. Collider black holes are less risky because extra dimensions tend to suppress the branching ratio.

Methods

  • The authors extend the Coleman–de Luccia thin-wall method to include a black hole, deriving a bounce action for a wall bounding two spacetime regions with different cosmological constants and black hole masses, then estimating the decay rate and branching ratio.
  • They perform a preliminary numerical investigation of static instantons by solving the Einstein-scalar equations with rotational symmetry on a black hole AdS background, using a spherically symmetric metric ansatz and a shooting technique that varies the scalar field at the black hole horizon and aims for \(\varphi \to 0\) as \(r \to 0\), with representative Higgs parameters \(\lambda_*=-0.01\) and \(b=10^{-4}\).
  • For collider black holes, they estimate the effect by modelling the instanton with a higher-dimensional counterpart, replacing \(R \to R^{n+1}\), with horizon areas \(A \propto M^{(n+2)/(n+1)}\) and evaporation temperature \(T \propto M^{-1/(n+1)}\).

Limitations

  • Stated: the thin-wall approximation is very constraining; the pseudo-analytic discussion is limited in parameter space; a full exploration outside the thin-wall approximation is necessary; the numerical investigation is preliminary; the collider black hole process is beyond the analytic approximations used; the conclusion depends on the existence of small black holes and a detailed numerical study of parameter space; and the semiclassical bubble nucleation argument only applies when the action \(B>1\).
  • Stated: the discussion assumes no impact from new physics between the TeV scale and the Planck scale, although generic quantum gravity corrections are included.
  • Evident: the results rely on representative parameter choices and on thin-wall, static-instanton, and higher-dimensional modelling approximations, without a full parameter scan or exact higher-dimensional black hole solutions.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1103/physrevlett.115.071303

Cites

30 of 30 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Verification

Claims the paper makes

16 Sources not found · 15 No basis given · 9 Own interpretation · 4 Own result · 1 Own method

Show all 23 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 17
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 5
22 of 22
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The standard model false vacuum has zero cosmological constant (Λ+ = 0).

    “For the decay of the Higgs vacuum, we assume the standard model has Λ + = 0”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    There is no impact from new physics between the TeV scale and the Planck scale.

    “Of course this discussion assumes no impact from new physics between the TeV scale and the Planck scale.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The higher-dimensional collider black hole instanton can be modelled with a static bubble.

    “Assuming the static bubble we can then calculate the horizon radius and area”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Small black holes exist (e.g., primordial or produced at colliders) so that they can seed vacuum decay.

    “Such a conclusion of course depends on the existence of said small black holes -by no means a certainty -and a detailed numerical study of parameter space.”
4 of 4

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Metadata

Authors
Burda, P., Gregory, R., & Moss, I. G.
Affiliations
  • Durham University (GB)
  • Perimeter Institute (CA)
  • Newcastle University (GB)
Venue
Physical Review Letters
Published
2015-08-13
Volume
115
Issue
7
Pages
071303-071303
ISSN
  • 0031-9007 (ISSN-L)
  • 1079-7114
OpenAlex
W1575417833
Cited by
140
References
20
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 8
FWCI
6.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Physical Review Letters (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (acceptedVersion)
  • Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion)
  • Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
  • Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity) (cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
  • Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/L000407/1)
  • Wolfson Foundation
  • Ministry of Research and Innovation
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories
Keywords
Higgs vacuum stability, vacuum decay, gravitational corrections, quantum gravity, thin-wall approximation, black holes, spontaneous nucleation, Higgs phase, parameter space constraints

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