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Published on: August 26, 2019
Accretion of a symmetry-breaking scalar field by a Schwarzschild black hole
Dina Traykova1, Jonathan Braden2, Hiranya V Peiris2,3
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK dina.traykova.13@alumni.ucl.ac.uk.
Abstract:
We simulate the behaviour of a Higgs-like field in the vicinity of a Schwarzschild black hole using a highly accurate numerical framework. We consider both the limit of the zero-temperature Higgs potential and a toy model for the time-dependent evolution of the potential when immersed in a slowly cooling radiation bath. Through these numerical investigations, we aim to improve our understanding of the non-equilibrium dynamics of a symmetry-breaking field (such as the Higgs) in the vicinity of a compact object such as a black hole. Understanding this dynamics may suggest new approaches for studying properties of scalar fields using black holes as a laboratory.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Higgs Cosmology'.
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