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  • Open Access

Theoretical uncertainties in first-order electroweak phase transitions

Yongzhao Zhu, Jie Liu, Renhui Qin*, and Ligong Bian†

  • Department of Physics and Chongqing Key Laboratory for Strongly Coupled Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, People’s Republic of China

  • *Contact author: 20222701021@stu.cqu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: lgbycl@cqu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 015018 – Published 18 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/f4gr-hycg

Abstract

We systematically investigate theoretical uncertainties in perturbative analyses of first-order electroweak phase transitions (EWPTs). Utilizing the Standard Model effective field theory framework, we quantify the gauge dependence, renormalization scheme, and scale dependencies in predicting phase-transition parameters across both zero and finite chemical potential regimes. Our key findings reveal that: (1) The gauge-parameter dependence and the chemical potential are subdominant, and (2) Baryon number preservation criteria and phase transition observables exhibit pronounced sensitivity to the renormalization scale in the MS¯ scheme. Comparative analyses with the on-shell scheme demonstrate that within strongly first-order EWPT parameter spaces, the MS¯ scheme predicts enhanced phase transition strengths and prolonged transition durations.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 015018– Published 18 July, 2025
  • Received 28 March 2025
  • Accepted 27 June 2025
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