Released in the journal Nature Physics, the findings provide experimental proof of bubble formation through false vacuum decay in a quantum system.Experimental Methodology and FindingsThe findings are supported by both theoretical simulations and numerical designs, verifying the quantum field origin of the decay and its thermal activation, opening the method to the emulation of out-of-equilibrium quantum field phenomena in atomic systems.The experiment utilizes a supercooled gas at a temperature of less than a microkelvin (one-millionth of a degree) from absolute no. At this temperature, bubbles are seen to emerge as the vacuum decomposes and the Newcastle Universitys Professor Ian Moss and Dr Tom Billam were able to show conclusively that these bubbles are a result of thermally triggered vacuum decay.Impact on Theoretical Physics and Future ResearchIan Moss, Professor of Theoretical Cosmology at Newcastle Universitys School of Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics, stated: “Vacuum decay is thought to play a main function in the production of space, time, and matter in the Big Bang, but up until now there has been no experimental test. The ultimate objective to is discover vacuum decay at the temperature level of absolute no where the procedure is driven purely by quantum vacuum changes.
