Talk:False vacuum
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The first statement in the article, "A false vacuum is a metastable sector of quantum field theory...," doesn't make any sense. The "sector of quantum field theory" is not, itself, metastable. The adjective "metastable" shouldn't refer to the state of a sector of the theory (unless, of course, the theory, itself, is not completely stable).
Likewise for the following statment, "... Simply put, the false vacuum is a state of a physical theory ...". The false vacuum is not the state of a theory.
69.107.143.233 16:36, 25 August 2006 (UTC) D.C. George
- You're absolutely wrong. Look in any reference on the subject. –Joke 20:56, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
- For example, Coleman and de Luccia, the first line of the abstract reads "It is possible for a classical field theory to have two stable homogeneous ground states, only one of which is an absolute energy minimum. In the quantum version of the theory, the ground state of higher energy is a false vacuum, rendered unstable by barrier penetration." State, sector, vacuum – they're interchangeable in modern use – as are unstable and metastable. Coleman wrote the book on the subject, so I'll take his word for it. –Joke 21:00, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Dear Joke 137,
I'm not suggesting that the theory is wrong. I have no disagreement with the theory. I'm saying that the logic (the syntax) of your description (and that of Coleman and de Luccia) is wrong. It's just plain bad english. A false vacuum is not the state of a theory. It may very well be the state of the vacuum but it's not the condition of the theory, itself. English may not be your native language, in which case you will be forgiven, but Coleman's editor should have corrected this.
If I may suggest a correct way to say it: It is possible in a classical field theory for the vacuum to have two stable homogeneous ground states, ...
69.107.143.233 15:38, 7 September 2006 (UTC)D.C. George
- English certainly is my native language. Coleman, moreover, is known as one of the clearest, most precise expositors in physics. Perhaps you are confused about the usage of the word "state." A state of a quantum theory is used, roughly, to mean "a vector in the Hilbert space of the quantum field theory." It is one object (a vector or wavefunction) among the collection of objects provided by the theory; it is not meant to describe a particular condition that the theory itself finds itself in. For further details, see quantum state. I see no point in discussing this well-established usage further. –Joke 21:02, 7 November 2006 (UTC)
Syntactically, the first sentence is still wrong. "A false vacuum is a metastable sector of a quantum field theory which appears to be a perturbative vacuum but is unstable to instanton effects which tunnel to a lower energy state." Isn't the metastable sector something predicted or described by the theory? The way it's written is like saying Newton's theory obeys the law of gravity (i.e. the theory falls to earth when dropped), when you really mean to say a rock that falls to earth obeys the law of gravity described by Newton's theory. I'm sure readers will get the drift, but it would make more logical sense if where corrected. -BuzzSkyline 13:07, 11 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] More information?
This is a very interesting (to me personally, at least) topic. Any extra information, particularly about the vacuum metastability event, would be much appreciated.
Things like these make me ever regret not choosing theoretical physics as the profession. IgorSF 16:22, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
