What is Vacuum Decay

A blog on the universe and the cosmos above and the nature of it determined by great scientists.

• What is Higgs Boson
• What is Higgs Field
• What is Vacuum and False Vacuum
• Vacuum Decay

Vacuum Decay is a theoretical prediction about how the universe will end due to the Higgs field which gives all particles their masses moving towards the state of complete stability and lowest energy level ( Vacuum state ) considering the assumption, that the Higgs field is currently in a state of false vacuum and has a lot of energy to give off and attain complete stability from the state of partial stability.

What is Higgs Boson :

                    Higgs boson is today a fundamental boson type in the Standard Model of elementary particles in the world of particle physics. Initially, there were a total of 4 types of bosons which included the Gluon ( massless particles which bind together the quarks present inside protons and neutrons ), Photon ( Particles associated with light ), W-Boson and Z-Boson ( accounted for the weak force ).

                     The idea of Higgs boson later came up in the year 1964, in order to overcome the problem of massless particles which was predicted by the standard model. The problem was such that, all the subatomic particles including the quarks, leptons and bosons are massless which was not true with respect to the W-boson and the Z-boson. These 2 bosons accounted for the weak force in nature were experimentally proved to be having mass.

                     Thus, the Higgs boson was later developed in order to avoid this problem and maintain continuity in the standard model of particle physics which helped us understand the 3 out of the 4 fundamental forces in nature, namely: the strong force, the weak force and the electromagnetic force. The 4th force being gravity was already defined with the help of Einstein's General Theory of relativity.

                     The Higgs boson, primarily thought by physicist Peter Higgs gave an alternate explanation regarding the mass problem faced with the W and Z Bosons. His theory predicted that all of these subatomic particles like quarks, leptons and bosons were indeed massless on their own. But, there were these strange particles which were spread across the universe which gave all of these other particles their masses. The heaviest of all subatomic particles, the Top quark and the lightest of them all, an electron both aren't heaviest and lightest because of their size but because of their way of interaction with these Higgs bosons which are spread across the universe.

                     Due to its due importance of giving masses to all the subatomic particles, the Higgs Boson is also sometimes referred as to the God Particle. The Higgs Boson was considered to be just a theoretical concept until 2012 when the large Hadron collider proposed proofs for such a kind of Boson particle. This was the first-ever observational proof for the existence of Higgs Boson which led us to a complete understanding of why some subatomic particles were massless while some had a huge share of mass

What is Higgs Field :

                    The Higgs field is a field present in the universe and which is composed of the Higgs bosons. The Higgs bosons are the constituent particles while the Higgs field is what is spread across space and all subatomic particles interact with this field.

                     In physics, any time of field is an energy layer of specific properties which is spread across space. There are various kinds of fields across the universe and the Higgs field is just another. The reason behind why the Higgs field is important is that it gives all the particles their masses as they interact with the constituent Higgs bosons which the field is composed of. 

                     The Higgs field is permeated across the universe and all the subatomic particles interact with it. The only differences in the masses of these subatomic particles are the way they interact with the Higgs field. FOr some of the heaviest subatomic particles like the Top Quark interact with this Higgs field for a prolonged duration which results into its mass being greater.

                    On the other hand, particles having really less mass like electron interact with the Higgs field for less amount of time as compared with the other heavy particles. This results in electrons having a low amount of mass as compared to other particles like the Top Quark.

                     Also, particles like photons, which are considered to be massless, don't interact with the Higgs field, and because the Higgs field is responsible for giving mass to other particles; the photons don't gain any mass because of this particular interaction with the Higgs field. Other types of subatomic particles like leptons and quarks also interact with the Higgs Field in various ways and thus have different masses rather than having no mass at all. Thus, this Higgs field helped the particle physicists to solve the problem of subatomic particles having variant masses. 

The below video shows the interaction between Higgs Bosons in the Higgs field and the Top quark and the Electron respectively. The difference in the number of HIgg bosons the Top quark interacts and that of Electron clearly indicates the difference in the way of interactions and why the differences in their masses are observed. Also if you observe closely, then you can observe the speed of the Top Quark decreasing as it reaches the end as it continues to gain more mass when it interacts with more Higgs Bosons and on the other hand, the speed of electron moreover remains the same as it gains less mass because of a lower number of interactions.

What is Vacuum and False vacuum : 

                    Vacuum, in short, is the state of total steadiness in terms of space. Here vacuum does not mean emptiness which is observed in the space or a region without air in it. According to some of the basic principals in physics, all the things around us have a specific energy level. For instance, in atoms, the higher or farther away the valance electron is from the nucleus, the higher amount of energy is stored in the atom.

                     However, things at really high levels are really unstable n nature. For instance, the higher number of shells an atom has, it starts to become more and more unstable and that is why Hydrogen is a pretty stable element in nature while Uranium 238 is a radioactive one. Radioactivity is simply the process of releasing the excess amount of energy which an atom process.

                     The same is with all the there systems in nature. Though other systems in nature don't release the excessive amount of energy in the form of radioactivity, there are various other processes through which the energy is released. When any type of particle reaches the lowest energy level possible, that means when it reaches the state of total stability, then such a kind of state is known as 

Vacuum State.

                      However, when there is a kind of situation where a particle reaches a state of steadiness that means it reaches a state of low energy but the state does not allow the particle to be the lowest state of energy, then the state is called as a False vacuum. In simple language, a false vacuum is a state where the particle is at a low energy state but not the lowest one possible.

                      In such a state, the particle is left with a lot of energy to get rid off through various process which can occur at any time. There is no predictability in this action and the particle can release its remaining excess energy at any time and reach the state of lowest energy that is the state of true vacuum. 

Vacuum Decay : 

                      Vacuum decay is a possible way in which the universe might end. Scientists believe that the Higgs field is in the state of false vacuum which expresses that there is a to of energy in the Higgs field waiting to be released and to gain the state of lowest possible energy level.

                        However, this might have a range of adverse effects on us as the Higgs field is the field which permeates throughout the universe and is responsible for giving particles their masses and if this field progresses to a level of lower energy, then it might have variant effects on the masses of the fundamental particles which make everything around us. This also means that celestial objects like stars, planets and other stuff in the space might just cease to existence including all the wife on earth as well. This great disturbance in the Higgs field would not be good news for us as it would change the structures of the subatomic particles itself which make up atoms, DNA, Cells and living beings like us. 

                          What adds up to this catastrophe is that it might take place at any time in space and there are no definitive means to predict the catastrophe which has the capacity to wipe out all life earth as well as all other celestial components in space.

                           However, though this might sound like a logical argument, there have been no such proofs of the Higgs Boson which make u the Higgs field to be unstable in nature which indirectly shows that we don't have any strong proofs for the argument that the Higgs field is in the state of false vacuum thus preventing the possibility of the Higgs boson proceeding towards the state of complete stability which started the whole catastrophe

                           Another point which prevents the space and us being wiped out is the fact that the universe is constantly expanding. As the universe is constantly expanding rather than being static, the instabilities in the Higgs Field which could start in one part of the space would need a lot of time till it reaches us and wipes us out. As mentioned above, there have been no proofs for the Higgs boson being in the state of false vacuum which would result into the nature of the Higgs field being changed, chances of such a catastrophe are also reduced. But, still, the chances of this catastrophe being true cannot be denied.

                            This is only one of the many ways that humans have come up with over a period of several years about how the universe might come to an end. If you're interested in knowing more about the other ways in which great scientists have theoretically shown how the universe might end, then you can subscribe to our blogs or our youtube channel where we will be updating our content on the various ways how our universe might end.