Physical Processes Commons^™

Scalar Field Vacuum Expectation Value Induced By Gravitational Wave Background, Preston Jones, Patrick Mcdougall, Michael Ragsdale, Douglas Singleton

Publications

We show that a massless scalar field in a gravitational wave background can develop a non-zero vacuum expectation value. We draw comparisons to the generation of a non-zero vacuum expectation value for a scalar field in the Higgs mechanism and with the dynamical Casimir vacuum. We propose that this vacuum expectation value, generated by a gravitational wave, can be connected with particle production from gravitational waves and may have consequences for the early Universe where scalar fields are thought to play an important role.