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RE: Connecting the fate of the universe to the Higgs boson
Wait - so does this research assert that a cataclysmic tunnelling of the entire universe is inevitable? It seems like the question they're asking isn't will it happen - but when.
Assuming the Standard Model (very strong assomption) and the measurements we have so far, the universe seems to be metasable. Therefore, it makes sense to calculate its lifetime. If we have new physics, now the techniques to redo the calculation in another theoretical framework are there :)
Well, that's sort of uplifting somehow. I remember in high school I read a book about the potential ends of the universe, and metastability didn't come up. Instead they said eventually, everything reactive will react with everything else until the whole universe reaches a kind of energetic homeostasis: which would manifest as an infinite expanse filled with light-year long blocks of iron - forever.
Actually, I used to read that book in the library instead of going to lunch... I was a strange kid.
The results are in fact there. You can check that we are very close to the stable/metastable frontier, but on the metastable side. You can find the figure in this paper, page 18.
You book seems... let's say old ;)
It was probably 20 years old when I read it, maybe 14 years ago. And anything but comprehensive - more pop-science. It was a weird book really.