1999/03/15 by Filipe Bonjour, Bonjour, Filipe, Christos Charmousis +3
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.gr-qc/9903059
10 pages, 9 eps files, talk given at Les Houches '99 Winter School
arxiv created 1999/03/15 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
We investigate a self-gravitating thick domain wall for a λΦ4 potential. The system of scalar and Einstein equations admits two types of non-trivial solutions: domain wall solutions and false vacuum-de Sitter solutions. The existence and stability of these solutions depends on the strength of the gravitational interaction of the scalar field, which is characterized by the number ε. For ε≪ 1, we find a domain wall solution by expanding the equations of motion around the flat spacetime kink. For ``large'' ε, we show analytically and numerically that only the de Sitter solution exists, and that there is a phase transition at some ε\rm max which separates the two kinds of solution. Finally, we comment on the existence of this phase transition and its relation to the topology of the domain wall spacetime.