July 9, 2020 to January 31, 2025
Europe/Zurich timezone

Self-Organised Localisation

Jun 22, 2021, 3:00 PM
1h

Speaker

Prof. Tevong You (CERN)

Description

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.

Presentation materials