Metastability stems from the finite lifetime of a state when a lower-energy configuration is
available but only by tunnelling through an energy barrier. It is observed in many natural …

Metastable states of quantum many-body systems with confinement offer a means to
simulate false vacuum phenomenology, including nonequilibrium dynamical processes like …

Ultracold atomic gases can undergo phase transitions that mimic relativistic vacuum decay,
allowing us to empirically test early Universe physics in tabletop experiments. We …

Cold-atom analog experiments are a promising new tool for studying relativistic vacuum
decay, enabling one to empirically probe early-Universe theories in the laboratory. However …

A bstract Metastable 'false'vacuum states are an important feature of the Standard Model of
particle physics and many theories beyond it. Describing the dynamics of a phase transition …

False vacuum decay, a quantum mechanical first-order phase transition in scalar field
theories, is an important phenomenon in early Universe cosmology. Recently, real-time …

We consider the decay of the false vacuum, realised within a quantum quench into an anti-
confining regime of the Ising spin chain with a magnetic field opposite to the initial …

Cold atomic gases offer the prospect of simulating the physics of the very early Universe in
the laboratory. In the condensate phase, the gas is described by a field theory with key …

We present a theory of false vacuum decay induced by spherical nucleation seeds. The type
of seed considered has a boundary characterized by surface energy terms. The theory …

The goal of this article is to review developments regarding the use of ultra-cold atoms as
quantum simulators. Special emphasis is placed on relativistic quantum phenomena, which …