Part 10/14:
The math and physics suggest that a lower vacuum energy state might exist, separated from ours by an energy barrier. While the probability is extremely low at present, quantum tunneling makes it a non-zero chance. Once initiated, the bubble of "new" vacuum would expand exponentially, annihilating all known matter.
Cosmic Significance of Vacuum Decay
If the universe's Higgs field were to shift to this lower state, the consequences would be universal. Atoms and molecules would become unstable or entirely vanish; gravitational structures could collapse; space itself might cease to expand or might even implode. Everything we know would be swept away in a cosmic instant.