Analytic approach to string-induced phase transitions

Abstract

In an early work it was shown that gauge-theory strings present in the early Universe could have converted a potentially first-order phase transition into a second order one. The demonstration was based on numerical integration of the relevant equations. In this paper we discuss the model employed there in a self-contained fashion and present analytical arguments to show that the previous results are of a more general validity, applicable to "seeding" in any supercooled medium. It is shown that in the presence of an appropriate seed, the supercooled state does not minimize the free energy (even locally) below a critical temperature. This contrasts with the phase transition in the absence of seeds, which is accompanied by extensive supercooling and which can be completed only by quantum tunneling.