Dark Stars: The Explosion That Changes the Universe ⚡ экспресс
A classical mechanism for the nucleation of true vacuum bubbles is proposed, arising from the formation of dense boson stars in a false vacuum. As a result of collapse driven by attractive self-interaction of the scalar field, the field strength in the star's core exceeds the potential barrier separating the false and true vacua. The stars explode as bubbles of true vacuum, initiating a cosmological phase transition. Thus, a vacuum that is stable against quantum tunneling may be vulnerable to classical 'astrophysical' catastrophes.
The universe exists in a state of false vacuum—like water behind a dam. Behind it lies the true vacuum—an abyss with different laws. Normally, water can only seep through the pores in a thin trickle (a quantum effect), barely changing the level.
But if a dense clump appears in the lake—boson stars made of dark matter—its weight presses through the bottom. The star collapses, pressure builds, and the dam shatters. In an instant, a bubble of true vacuum bursts out and rushes in all directions at the speed of light, triggering a cosmological phase transition—the rebirth of space itself. This process requires no quantum rarities: it’s pure classical physics.
Such a catastrophe can occur anywhere in the cosmos, and its expanding bubble will alter the expansion of the Universe and fundamental constants. If it heads our way, we won’t notice its approach—and at the moment of collision, ordinary matter vanishes, and with it, all laws. Fortunately, the probability of such an event in the observable Universe is vanishingly small.
🎯 During false vacuum decay, fundamental constants like the electron mass could become different.
🎬 The idea of false vacuum decay inspired Stephen Baxter's novel "Vacuum Diagrams".