Series:
Event Type: Seminar
Scientific Area(s): Particle Physics
End date: 2021-11-15
Speaker(s): Gian Francesco Giudice
We describe a new phenomenon in quantum cosmology: self-organised localisation. When the fundamental parameters of a theory are functions of a scalar field subject to large fluctuations during inflation, quantum phase transitions can act as dynamical attractors. As a result, the theory parameters are probabilistically localised around the critical value and the Universe finds itself at the edge of a phase transition. We illustrate how self-organised localisation could account for the observed near-criticality of the Higgs self-coupling, the naturalness of the Higgs mass, or the smallness of the cosmological constant.
Zoom link: https://stanford.zoom.us/j/96305309243?pwd=bWptbXY1VEU1eXh5UlVvVHlpR2ROUT09