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  • Open Access

Enhancement of weak interactions in phase transitions in condensed matter and early Universe

V. V. Flambaum*

  • *Contact author: v.flambaum@unsw.edu.au
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APS Open Sci. 1, 000213 – Published 12 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/w28g-62db

Abstract

Parity-violating weak interactions produce extremely small energy differences between left- and right-handed chiral systems. We show that these microscopic effects may be amplified during collective phenomena such as phase transitions. The enhancement factor is proportional to the critical number of atoms, Nc, in the nucleus of the new phase. Measurement of the ratio of produced left- and right-handed chiral structures may provide a way to determine Nc. Experiments in which spin-chiral structures are formed in ZnCr2Se4 during a phase transition in crossed electric and magnetic fields indicate an effective amplification corresponding to Nc∼109–1010. We emphasize, however, that such large values cannot be inferred from homogeneous capillary nucleation alone, since the same parameters imply a very large nucleation barrier; in real crystals heterogeneous nucleation, defects, strain, and domain-growth dynamics may be essential. We also discuss, more cautiously, whether analogous collective enhancement could operate in first-order cosmological phase transitions beyond the standard model. The standard-model electroweak transition for the observed Higgs mass is a crossover and therefore has no critical bubble nucleus.

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APS Open Sci. 1, 000213– Published 12 November, 2026
Vol. 1
  • Received 28 July 2026
  • Revised 9 October 2026
  • Accepted 28 October 2026
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