false vacuum

Noun

 * 1)  A (hypothetical) metastable vacuum whose energy state is at a local minimum different from the global minimum; a vacuum that is relatively stable and long-lived but which still may decay to a lower-energy state.
 * 2) * 1989,, , The inflationary universe, , The New Physics, , 2000 (1992) Paperback Edition, page 57,
 * The energy density of the false vacuum can be attributed entirely to the Higgs fields. Furthermore, as can be seen in figure 3.5, any deviation of the Higgs fields from their false-vacuum values would require an increase in energy density. This implies that the false vacuum has a peculiar property which distinguishes it from all familiar materials: when the volume of a region of false vacuum is increased, the energy density cannot decrease, but instead remains at a constant value.
 * 1) * 2010,, , Oneworld Publications, eBook Edition,
 * When a field is stuck in a false vacuum, it wants to decay to the lower-energy true vacuum.

Translations

 * French: faux vide
 * German: falsches Vakuum
 * Italian: falso vuoto
 * Portuguese: falso vácuo