Scientists simulate quantum vacuum decay that could end the universe

Researchers built an analog quantum simulator of false vacuum decay, recreating vacuum-bubble formation and growth in a controlled lab setting.

The experiment offers the first testbed for studying how a metastable quantum vacuum could tunnel into a lower-energy state.

By modeling this process, physicists can probe vacuum stability and quantum field behavior that are impossible to observe directly in cosmology.

The work may help refine theories related to the Higgs boson, the electroweak vacuum, and other models of quantum tunneling.