Cosmological first-order phase transitions may have generated an observable gravitational wave background, providing a unique window into physics beyond the Standard Model. A crucial step in predicting this background is the reliable computation of bubble nucleation rates. In this talk, I will discuss how techniques, such as effective field theories, Boltzmann equations and real-time...
Certain aspects of phase transition dynamics, at least the initial nucleations and subsequent growth, can be described within the framework of fluctuating hydrodynamics, extended by a scalar order parameter. A strength of this formulation is that the contributions of small and large momenta can be factorized. We describe the ideas and limitations behind this approach, and how it can be used...
