  We discuss homogeneous nucleation in a first-order chiral phase transition
within an effective field theory approach to low-energy QCD. Exact decay rates
and bubble profiles are obtained numerically and compared to analytic results
obtained with the thin-wall approximation. The thin-wall approximation
overestimates the nucleation rate for any degree of supercooling. The time
scale for critical thermal fluctuations is calculated and compared to typical
expansion times for high-energy hadronic or heavy-ion collisions. We find that
significant supercooling is possible, and the relevant mechanism for phase
conversion might be that of spinodal decomposition. Some potential experimental
signatures of supercooling, such as an increase in the correlation length of
the scalar condensate, are also discussed.
